By SYDNEY KENT
A 19-year-old from Bluffton received less than the advisory sentence after he sold enough fentanyl pills to kill 9,550 people.
Malvern G. Bozarth was sentenced to 15 years in prison with 12 years executed during his hearing in the Wells Circuit Court last week. In December, Bozarth pled guilty to one count of dealing a narcotic drug in 10 or more grams, a Level 2 felony, and one count of possession of a firearm, a Level 4 felony.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the charges stem from a drug deal between Bozarth and a confidential informant, or CI, in late April 2023. In less than four minutes, Bozarth sold 19.9 grams of fentanyl pills to the informant for $1,000.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 to 100 times more potent than heroin or morphine — 2 milligrams is a lethal dose to an average adult.
Over 500 pills were reportedly in Bozarth’s possession at the time the deal was arranged, according to the informant, and more pills were seen in his apartment. A string of social media messages also proved that Bozarth gave the CI money to purchase a firearm from a man in Fort Wayne on his behalf. This earned Bozarth the second count in this case.
“Cases involving informants have a number of variables not always within our control,” Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jeffrey Stineburg said following the hearing. “We have to take that into account. Given Bozarth’s limited criminal history and the variables that can occur at a trial involving an informant — we believe this to be an appropriate plea. We believe that the judge took this into consideration and sentenced Mr. Bozarth appropriately.”
According to a plea agreement, 12 years was the maximum amount of time Bozarth could be ordered to serve in incarceration. There were no guidelines on the amount of time he could be sentenced.
“Both the detectives and departments involved did an excellent job in this case,” Stineburg concluded. “(They) were all of the same mind that this was a good outcome.”
According to court documents, Bozarth’s first introduction to the judicial system was at 12-years-old, and continued with several charges since. By 16, Bozarth testified that he had been shot with a firearm in the course of a drug deal during a four-month period where he was on the run.
In October 2021, when Bozarth was 17-years-old, he rear-ended the back of a vehicle driven by a Bluffton Police Department detective. The officer noted that Bozarth smelled of marijuana. Bozarth stated that he did not have any weapons, but the magazine well of a firearm was located in his front pocket. Officers also located 25 grams of marijuana and 81 pills identified as Alprazolam in the vehicle.
For this, Bozarth was charged with possession of a controlled substance, a Level 6 felony, carrying a handgun without a license and dangerous possession of a firearm by a child, both Class A misdemeanors, possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor, and driving without receiving a license, a Class C misdemeanor.
Bozarth could have faced several years in prison for the charges acquired from the accident if convicted, however, every charge was dismissed under a plea agreement from a case earlier that year.
In June 2021, Bozarth acquired charges for dealing a controlled substance over 10 grams, a Level 3 felony, dealing a controlled substance less than 1 gram, a Level 5 felony, dealing marijuana, a Level 6 felony, and dangerous possession of a firearm by a child, a Class A misdemeanor.
He was ultimately sentenced to two years in the Indiana Department of Correction with one year suspended and probation time. Bozarth has continued to violate probation on the case and has acquired new charges since.
Though he was ordered to serve 12 years of prison sentence, Bozarth could exit incarceration several years sooner contingent upon completing the Purposeful Incarceration, or PI, program.
sydney@news-banner.com
