Published: May 09, 2008 02:29 pm            

Former Clarksville police officer gets 12 years for drugs

Mikel sold drugs out of Greentree Skateland

Former Clarksville Police Officer Franklin Mikel, who pleaded guilty to selling drugs out of Greentree Skateland, was sentenced to 12 years in the case Thursday, court records show.

Mikel, 35, signed a plea agreement in January that reduced his three A felony dealing in a schedule II controlled substance charges to B felonies, and capped the total maximum sentence to 12 years. Clark County Superior Court No. 2 Judge Cecile Blau accepted his plea agreement Thursday. She ordered him to serve the first 10 years of the sentence in the custody of the state Department of Corrections. The 11th year would be served under house arrest through Clark County Community Corrections, and the 12th under probation through Clark Superior Court No. 2.

He would likely be released in five years under Indiana incarceration guidelines if he exhibited good behavior, then move on to serve his house arrest and probation terms.

Mikel, who bought Greentree Skateland in 2005, admitted selling morphine pills to three informants on separate dates. He was arrested in 2007, and suspended without pay from the Clarksville Police Department, for which he had served eight years. As Mikel awaited judgment of his case, he was employed by Kia of Clarksville, court records show. He also underwent court-ordered outpatient drug treatment at Wellstone Regional Hospital and voluntary counseling and substance-abuse programs, his attorney Larry Wilder said in January.

Mikel had originally faced 20 to 50 years in prison per count. The plea agreement helped execute justice while still allowing Mikel to move past his drug problems and regain control of his life, Wilder said in a January interview. Wilder did not return a telephone call seeking comment as of publication deadline.

Mikel has a pending case in Clark County Superior Court No. 3. After his drug-dealing arrest, he was charged with four misdemeanors — two for drunken driving and two for invasion of privacy. Mikel allegedly had contacted his ex-wife in violation of a restraining order. A plea agreement is pending in that case, which would place Mikel under additional probation when he is released from state custody. A sentencing hearing in that case is scheduled for May 29.

Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Bob Bottorff, who is handling Mikel’s cases, did not return a call seeking comment as of publication deadline.

        

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