Brownsburg resident Scott Planalp, 37, received a twelve-year sentence in federal prison for his unlawful methamphetamine distribution activities. After entering a guilty plea to the allegations against him, he will serve an extra five years of supervised release as part of his penalty. According to court records, the DEA began looking into Planalp's meth trafficking activities in June 2022.
During the investigation, the DEA witnessed Planalp on three accounts, transacting the illicit drug to various individuals. Specifically, on June 15, 2022, he sold a significant 72.9 grams of methamphetamine for $1,050. He boldly disclosed to the buyer that, despite his participation in a drug court program due to a previous drug arrest, he was still involved in the trade, even while under obligation to submit to thrice-weekly drug screenings.
The total amount of meth that Planalp trafficked during the DEA's monitoring program was 185.1 grams. Given the seriousness of the situation, U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers said, "Meth traffickers must be held accountable for the harm that their poison does to people and families impacted by substance use disorders." He went on to say, "This defendant was undeterred by prior arrests and shamelessly continued the criminal conduct that landed him in state court in the first place," according to the United States Southern District of Indiana Attorney's Office.
This strong sentence, which reflects the system's attitude toward repeat offenders and guarantees community safety, is the result of the DEA's work. The responsibility of authority is to evict such harmful elements from society by promoting a message of prevention and retribution. Despite prior run-ins with the law, Planalp's failure to resign from his illegal activities emphasizes the gravity of the issue and the concurrent judicial response. "The federal prison sentence imposed here reflects the seriousness of these repeated crimes and the need to protect the community from a drug dealer who acted with utter disregard for the law, the courts, and the harms he caused," Myers emphasized in a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
The investigation by the DEA ultimately set the stage for Planalp's sentencing by U.S. District Judge James P. Hanlon. Myers extended his gratitude to Assistant U.S. Attorney Barry D. Glickman for leading the successful prosecution of the case.
