Man arrested after Spice, meth found in apartment he shared with two children

A Bloomington man was arrested after police found materials to make methamphetamine, the drug itself and the synthetic cannabinoid Spice in the apartment he was sharing with two children.

Officers were dispatched to a residence in the 2300 block of Winslow Court early Friday after receiving a report that a man there was possibly high on meth, Sgt. Jeff Canada of the Bloomington Police Department said.

The officers were met by the suspect’s mother, who showed them a green Mountain Dew bottle. The bottle had smoke coming out of its top and contained a white substance that appeared to be meth.

The woman’s son, Jay E. Hickman, 26, was found inside the home. He told the officers he lived there and was caring for his 5-year-old daughter and his girlfriend’s 3-year-old daughter.

The officers suspected Hickman was under the influence of some kind of drug and they found a red bottle with tubes coming out of its top and secured by tape. This bottle also appeared to contain meth and was within reach of the two children, Canada said.

While Hickman was checked out by medics from IU Health Bloomington Hospital, the officers talked to his girlfriend.

She had been out of town for a week, and left her daughter in Hickman’s care, she said. When she came home earlier Friday morning she noticed smoke exiting a room in the apartment as Hickman came out of it. It did not appear to be cigarette or marijuana smoke.

In that room, officers found a prescription bottle filled with liquid and wrapped in plastic and duct tape. The officers recognized all of the materials as components of a working meth lab, Canada said, which was later confirmed by the Indiana State Police.

Hickman told police that the materials belonged to a friend, but admitted to smoking Spice and marijuana the previous night. On a couch, officers found a container of Spice.

He was arrested and charged with manufacturing methamphetamine, an A felony, as well as possessing methamphetamine, a B felony. In addition, he was charged with two counts of neglect of a dependent, a C felony, maintaining a common nuisance, a D felony, and taking a child to a common nuisance, an A misdemeanor.

Hickman is the second person in Monroe County to be charged with possession of Spice, an A misdemeanor, since the drug became illegal in Indiana on July 1.

— Jake New