Feds charge men with trafficking meth in Posey Co.

POSEY CO., Ind. (WFIE) - Officials with the U.S. Attorney’s Office say 41-year-old Jeremy Novak, of Illinois, and 37-year-old Cesar Herrera, of California, have been charged in a federal criminal complaint with distribution of methamphetamine in Posey County.

They say it’s following a months’ long investigation by multiple law enforcement agencies.

According to court documents, in February of 2023, the Posey County Drug Task Force and Drug Enforcement Administration initiated an investigation into Novak and Herrera.

They say Herrera served as the supplier, obtaining the meth from California, which Novak then distributed in and around Posey County.

Officials say on three separate occasions between February 27, 2023, and March 10, 2023, investigators say Novak sell four pounds of crystal methamphetamine to someone for a total of $19,000.

They say the drug deals happened in a parked vehicle at a Dollar General Store.

On March 10, 2023, members of the DEA, Posey County Drug Task Force, Posey County Sheriff’s Office, Evansville Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force, and Indiana State Police took Novak and Herrera into custody.

During a search of the vehicle officials say Novak used for dealing, officers found $11,100 and three vacuum sealed bags containing a total of over three pounds of methamphetamine.

If convicted on all counts, both Novak and Herrera face up to life in prison.

The driver of the vehicle, Christina Alumbaugh, was also arrested and charged in Posey County Circuit Court with Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Level 2 Felony.

Alumbaugh is being prosecuted by the Posey County Prosecutor’s Office and faces 10 to 30 years in state prison.