Two Arrested in Traffic Stop

April 26th, 2025

Two men are in the Bartholomew County Jail for felony drug charges after a traffic stop Monday night. The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) had been looking into Christopher Neal, 35 of Columbus, after receiving information that he was dealing drugs. Through their investigation, JNET gathered enough evidence to arrest him for dealing a controlled substance. On March 24^th, 2025, Neal was seen driving a black Nissan passenger car and Columbus Police Department (CPD) officers initiated a traffic stop near S Cherry St and South St.

A CPD K-9 alerted to the odor of drugs from the Nissan. During a subsequent search, officers found over nine grams of substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl, two grams of suspected methamphetamine, suspected marijuana, drug paraphernalia, digital scales, and packaging material.

Neal was arrested for the preliminary charges of:

-Dealing a narcotic drug, a level 3 felony
-Dealing methamphetamine, a level 3 felony
-Possession of a narcotic drug, a level 5 felony
-Possession of methamphetamine, a level 5 felony
-Possession of paraphernalia, a C misdemeanor

The passenger, Leland Watson, 33 of Hope, was arrested for the preliminary charges of:

-Possession of a narcotic drug, a level 6 felony
-Possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony
-Possession of marijuana, a B misdemeanor
-Possession of paraphernalia, a C misdemeanor

The Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team, a combined unit of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, the Columbus Police Department and the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office is proactively targeting the manufacturing and abuse of dangerous drugs in Columbus and Bartholomew County.  All suspects should be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.