Shannon Dixon, 26, of Argos, was sentenced on Thursday, August 13 in Marshall Superior Court Number 1 to 16 years imprisonment for dealing in methamphetamine as a Level 3 Felony and eight years for burglary as a Level 2 Felony. Judge Robert O. Bowen approved an agreement between Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tami Napier and defense attorney Tom Black that allowed upon Dixon’s plea of guilty the parties were free to argue the appropriate sentence with a cap of twenty years.
In open court, Dixon admitted that on November 13, 2014, she broke into a residence to manufacture methamphetamine. It is alleged that Dixon’s accomplice was armed with a silver and black BB gun during the crimes. In exchange for a guilty plea, the State dismissed the remaining charges in this case.
The case began on November 13, 2014, when Trooper Patrick O’Keefe responded to a home regarding a residential entry. The homeowner explained that she had walked into her house and observed a man lying in a bed. The homeowner exited the residence and locked herself in her vehicle near a garage to call 911. Dixon and her male accomplice exited the residence and entered the garage. The male then came out of the garage and pointed what appeared to the homeowner as a handgun and motioned for her to get out of the way. The male then ran back into the garage and fled the scene in a black Suburban. Dixon was in the passenger seat.
Detective Lourdes Lemler of the Indiana State Police was in the area and heard the radio traffic with a description of the incident and the vehicle. Near the Dollar Tree/Kmart mall on the north side of Plymouth, Detective Lemler observed a vehicle and its occupants that matched the description. Plymouth Police Officer John Weir was also in the immediate area and attempted to stop the black Suburban, but it fled from police and refused to stop. Officer Weir then engaged in a high speed pursuit through downtown Plymouth. The male was driving erratically on Liberty Street near the Lincoln Junior High School when Dixon tossed a black bag out of the car window. Police retrieved the black bag and discovered it contained items used to manufacture methamphetamine. The pair continued at high speed on Lincoln Highway eastbound and eventually the pair turned into a field on the north side of Lincoln Highway near the US 31 overpass. Dixon and Richard Gee were taken into custody at that time.
Police soon discovered the black Suburban used in the chase was a stolen vehicle. When police searched the vehicle, they found a “one pot” methamphetamine reaction vessel and a silver/black BB handgun. Also found in the Suburban were numerous articles that had been burglarized from the residence.
Police also discovered that Richard Gee was wanted on an arrest warrant out of St. Joseph County for resisting law enforcement, possession of methamphetamines, possession of precursors to make methamphetamine, and criminal confinement.
Shannon Dixon, age 25 at the time of the offenses, has an extensive criminal history that includes maintaining a common nuisance, conversion, possession of marijuana, and theft. That history included numerous arrests related to the manufacture and possession of methamphetamine.
Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman praised the seamless communication and collaboration between law enforcement agencies. “The call came in on 911 and the Indiana State Police responded to the scene first. Information was quickly gathered and communicated by radio throughout the area with an ISP Detective spotting the vehicle and communicating that to Plymouth Police. The chase was then on and filmed by a car camera. The public would be proud of how Officer Weir did a controlled chase in the middle of the day through the streets of Plymouth, the lawn of Lincoln Junior High and eventually a successful arrest. The video is incredible. From the beginning of this crime to its successful conclusion, we are so fortunate nobody, let alone an innocent person, was hurt.”
“As for the sentence handed down to Shannon Dixon of 16 years of imprisonment, the duration is appropriate in light of the numerous chances she has had at rehabilitation that, frankly, she threw back in our faces. If she has any hope for the semblance of a normal life after this stint of imprisonment, she will need to work at it to break the addiction. We wish her well, but it is all up to her now.”
