Two facing charges over death at county jail

Debin P. Gabbard; photo courtesy of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Dept.

Two inmates are facing further charges in the overdose death of a woman in the Bartholomew County Jail back in October.

Indiana State Police say that 27-year-old Debin P. Gabbard of Columbus is facing new felony charges of dealing methamphetamine, trafficking with an Inmate, possession of a narcotic drug and of methamphetamine. 19-year-old Mary Snyder of Columbus is facing a new charge of possession of methamphetamine.

The new charges stem from the overdose death of 42-year-old Angela Blair of Elizabethtown on Oct. 7th, who was a jail inmate at the time. According to the Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office, Blair died of a methamphetamine overdose.

Mary L. Snyder. Photo courtesy of Columbus Police Department.

State police are accusing Gabbard of smuggling the methamphetamine into the jail when she was arrested. She then allegedly passed the drugs to Snyder, who then gave them to Blair while they were housed together in the jail.

Blair collapsed and died after taking the drugs, police say.

Investigators served warrants on Friday to Gabbard, who is still in the county jail, and to Snyder who has since been transferred to Rockville Correctional Facility.

State Police were assisted by the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, Bartholomew County Coroner’s Office, and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office.