Fort Wayne Man Receives Probation For Drug Charges
WARSAW — A Fort Wayne man will spend time on probation and has been ordered to continue treatment for chemical dependency after being sentenced for his role in a 2016 incident where police said he was driving a vehicle that contained illegal drugs and did so in the presence of a minor child.
John Thomas Young, 39, 5818 Langford Lane, Fort Wayne, pleaded guilty on Oct. 29 to possession of methamphetamine and operating while intoxicated, both level 6 felonies. He appeared in Kosciusko County Circuit Court on Monday, Dec. 31, for sentencing.
According to police, Young was spotted driving a car in Warsaw on June 25, 2016, and displayed a worried look on his face before violating several traffic laws and driving the vehicle into a bowling alley parking lot. Police said a passenger in the vehicle fled the scene, ignoring police commands to stop, and entered the bowling alley.
Officers said Young was removed from the vehicle and a $20 bill fell out of the car when he exited the car. Inside the car was also a 6-year-old boy.
Police said the man who fled into the bowling alley allegedly dropped bags of drugs inside the building. Police also conducted a canine outer air search of the vehicle and reported finding drugs there as well.
At his sentencing hearing, Young’s attorney, Benjamin Vanderpool, told Judge Michael Reed that Young is going to treatment for chemical dependency and plans to continue to seek help for addiction.
“As long as he continues to do that, I think he will not have any further trouble,” Vanderpool said.
For his two charges, Young received two and a half years in the Kosciusko County Jail. The two sentences were ordered to be concurrent, or simultaneous. Young was given 402 days of jail credit and was given probation for the balance of the sentence.
Young’s license will also be suspended for one year.