First jury trial since the March 2020 Shutdown held in Franklin Co.; Laurel man found guilty of possession of methamphetamine

By John Estridge from a press release authored by Franklin County Prosecutor Chris Huerkamp

The first jury trial conducted in Franklin County since the imposition of public health restrictions in March 2020, resulted in a guilty verdict for Philip Richardson, 61, Laurel.

After briefly deliberating, jurors found Richardson guilty of Possession of Methamphetamine, as a Level 6 Felony. The evidence presented during the trial centered around nearly half of a gram of Methamphetamine that was recovered by Franklin County Sheriff’s Deputy Dusty Hill during a traffic stop of Richardson on December 22, 2018. Following the announcement of the verdict, Franklin County Circuit Court 2 Judge Clay Kellerman remanded Richardson to the Franklin County Security Center, ordered a pre-sentence investigation and scheduled a sentencing hearing for Tuesday, May 18. As a result of the Level 6 Felony conviction, Richardson is now facing six to 30 months of incarceration.

The state was represented at trial by Prosecuting Attorney Chris Huerkamp, the defendant by Michael Cunningham of the McMillin Law Office in Brookville.

An additional misdemeanor count of Illegal Possession of a Controlled Substance was dismissed by the prosecution prior to trial because Richardson had provided evidence he had a valid prescription at the time of the alleged offense, which, under Indiana Law, serves as a defense to that charge.

According to Huerkamp, Judge Kellerman’s staff took numerous safety precautions to ensure each prospective juror felt safe during the proceedings. As far as he could tell, no prospective juror expressed concerns that would impact his/her ability to focus on the trial. Huerkamp said he did not get to speak to any of the jurors following the verdict, but he didn’t hear of any safety concerns expressed by the panel.

“Judge Kellerman and his staff addressed the issue from the outset, and at least from what I know, no prospective juror was uncomfortable with the setup,” Huerkamp said. “I think I can speak for all parties involved in this case—attorneys, judge, and court staff–in thanking the entire jury pool for their service and attention during the course of the proceedings.”

Huerkamp was also grateful to have the assistance of Deputy Hill, both as the investigating officer and at trial.

“I really can’t say enough about the professionalism and integrity demonstrated by Dusty Hill, both during the course of the investigation and on the witness stand,” Huerkamp said. “During the trial, there were some inferences made by the defense table that were soundly refuted by Deputy Hill’s testimony and the other evidence. Of course, defense counsel was doing his job and fulfilling his duties to his client by holding the state to its burden of proof and questioning the evidence. In my opinion, Deputy Hill’s responses and the evidence from his investigation allowed the jurors to see through that rather easily. He is a credit to Franklin County Law Enforcement in general and to the Sheriff’s Department specifically.”

Finally, Huerkamp noted that Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Molly Brier capably represented the prosecution during a previous suppression hearing in which she successfully argued for the state’s position that suppression motion be denied.

Huerkamp talked about the first jury trial since the March 2020 Shutdown. He said he wanted it to be noted how well the jury trial was handled by the court staff. And it is his hope that hopefully society as a whole can return to some degree of regularity.

“I’m very proud of how our local court system (as well as the community in general) has weathered unprecedented events and restrictions that have been imposed on it over the last 14 months,” Huerkamp said. “Setting aside the circumstances of the case itself, I hope that, at the end of the day, the trial represents a long-overdue return to normalcy.”