Multiple Narcotics Arrests

 On October 19th, around noon, members of the Evansville-Vanderburgh County Joint Drug Task Force (JTF), assisted by member of the Evansville SWAT team, executed a search warrant at a residence in the 2300 block of Margybeth Ave. 

The JTF Detectives had been receiving multiple complaints about narcotics activity at that residence. The detectives in the unit eventually gathered enough probably cause to apply for and receive a judicially signed search warrant. Detectives had also received information that there were firearms inside of the residence. Due to the intel that there were officer safety issues, the Evansville SWAT team assisted with the initial entry. 

Prior to the execution of the search warrant, detectives conducted surveillance of the residence and witnessed 25 people coming and going from the address within 4 hours. Their visits to the address were very short and were consistent with narcotics trafficking. 

Kenneth Gardner was the first individual that officers/detectives encountered while serving the search warrant. Gardner was sitting in a vehicle in the driveway of the residence. Gardner was detained and officers observed two bags containing a green leafy substance sitting on the driver’s seat. He was also found to be in possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. 

Members of the EPD SWAT team announced their presence over a loudspeaker. Trevell Carpenter was inside the residence at the time and was 

observed jumping out of a window and running away from officers. Officers ordered Carpenter to stop but he did not. After a short foot pursuit and the help of an EPD K9, Carpenter was caught and taken into custody. 

Several individuals who were inside the residence did cooperate with officers and exited the residence, however, Jack Harden refused to come out. Harden hid in the crawl space of the residence. He was given numerous commands to exit the residence. After failing to listen to commands and refusing to exit, the EPD SWAT team deployed OC gas inside the residence. After several minutes, Harden decided to cooperate and was taken into custody. Two firearms were eventually located inside the crawl space where Harden was hiding. Harden was found to be a convicted Serious Violent Felon and is not supposed to be in possession of firearms. 

A total of 9 individuals were detained from the residence. Once the residence was clear, detectives conducted their search. In total, five firearms, narcotics including fentanyl, numerous digital scales, and a large amount of currency were all located inside the residence. Detectives also applied for and were granted a search warrant for the vehicle that Gardner was sitting in when law enforcement officials initially arrived. The two bags of green leafy substance were recovered from that vehicle. 

At the end of the investigation, 8 people were arrested for various charges and one individual was cited. Here are the following names and charges: 

Kenneth Gardner-Possession of Narcotic Drug, Dealing Marijuana, and Visiting a Common Nuisance 

Kari Shelton-Visiting a Common Nuisance 

Shienkita Foster-Dealing Cocaine, Maintaining Common Nuisance 

Maurice Joyce-Visiting a Common Nuisance 

Trevell Carpenter-Visiting a Common Nuisance and Resisting Law Enforcement 

Andrea Bell- Visiting a Common Nuisance 

Jack Hardin-Dealing Cocaine, Possession of Firearm by Serious Violent Felon, Maintaining a Common Nuisance, and Resisting Law Enforcement 

Rolshon Hudson-Dealing Cocaine, Possession of Firearm by Serious Violent Felon, and Maintaining a Common Nuisance 

With the help of tips and information from the public, this is another great example of how law enforcement and our community can work together to take dangerous weapons and narcotics off of our streets. We encourage anyone with tips/information about narcotics activity to call the EPD Tip Line at (812) 436-6194.