By Howard Greninger
TERRE HAUTE — David W. Decker, still an elected county commissioner when he walked into federal court here Thursday morning, waived his right to a grand jury indictment after already having signed a plea agreement on a federal drug charge. Decker was released under court supervision, which includes submitting to random drug screens.
A plea deal Decker signed Tuesday shows he admitted to distributing 3.25 grams of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine. The plea agreement calls for Decker to serve no less than five months in prison, with a maximum of 10 months in prison.
In his agreement, Decker, 53, also waives his right to appeal the conviction.
Under his release, Decker is to be employed. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bradley A. Blackington asked U.S. Magistrate Craig McKee to order Decker to resign as Vigo County commissioner, so he could not use his county employment to justify remaining a commissioner.
McKee did not make a ruling after William G. Smock, Decker’s attorney, told the court Decker would resign immediately from his county position. Joseph Etling, chairman of the Vigo County Democratic Party, said Thursday afternoon he had not yet received an official resignation from Decker. Etling is a law partner with Smock.
Thursday night, Smock said that a letter of resignation has been mailed, with a copy going to both the Vigo County clerk and the president of the Vigo County Council. The letters were mailed out of his office.
Decker will next appear before federal Judge William T. Lawrence for a plea hearing. If Lawrence accepts the plea agreement, the judge will determine if Decker will serve the entire sentence in jail or order Decker to serve home detention or do community service.
No plea hearing has yet been scheduled in Lawrence’s court, a court clerk said Thursday.
A sentencing hearing would then follow, if the plea agreement is accepted.
Decker’s meth charge stems from an investigation that also resulted in the arrest of his nephew, Chad Decker, 34, of Terre Haute for distributing 500 grams of methamphetamine. Chad Decker faces 10 years to life in prison on the charge.
The investigation, that later included Decker, uncovered two methamphetamine trafficking organizations and federal charges against alleged organization leaders Robbin Welker, 43, also known as Robbin Poore, and Vicki Shaw, 41. Chad Decker, as well as David Decker, were charged under the investigation involving Welker.
In addition, another nephew of Decker, Shawn Decker, was sentenced in federal court in July 2003 to serve three years and five months in federal prison after pleading guilty to methamphetamine and marijuana charges. He was to be under supervised release for three years after prison.
Shawn Decker was arrested in 2002 in a federal drug trafficking investigation that involved the Diablos motorcycle gang. Decker pleaded guilty to drug charges. A subsequent trial resulted in the conviction of four men and one woman involved in a meth ring that federal prosecutors said had been bringing in about 40 pounds of the drug each month to the Terre Haute area.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com
