A Pike County man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison following a drug investigation that began with a traffic stop in 2025.
On March 17, 2026, Pike Circuit Court Judge Evan C. Biesterveld sentenced 60-year-old Roger D. McCord of Stendal to serve time in the Indiana Department of Correction. The sentence includes six years for dealing in a Schedule II controlled substance, enhanced to a Level 4 felony due to a prior conviction, along with an additional six years for a habitual offender enhancement. The terms will be served consecutively.
The sentencing was part of a plea agreement that capped the total sentence at 16 years. Under the agreement, McCord pleaded guilty to distributing a-PHP, a synthetic cathinone commonly known as “bath salts,” and admitted to being a habitual offender. In exchange, a separate charge of maintaining a common nuisance was dismissed. Both the prosecution and defense were allowed to argue for an appropriate sentence within the cap before the court ultimately imposed 12 years.
The case stems from an April 2, 2025, traffic stop conducted by the Petersburg Police Department near Stendal as part of an ongoing drug investigation. Officers observed drug paraphernalia inside McCord’s vehicle, leading to search warrants for his camper. Investigators located additional evidence of drug preparation during the search.
Authorities later confirmed that a substance recovered from the camper was alpha-pyrrolidinohexanophenone, also known as a-PHP. McCord admitted to purchasing the synthetic drug online.
In determining the sentence, the court cited several aggravating factors, including McCord’s criminal history, which includes prior felony convictions for dealing in controlled substances, a recent violation of pretrial release conditions, and a pattern of prior lenient treatment failing to prevent further offenses. The court also noted McCord’s guilty plea as a mitigating factor, recognizing that it conserved time and resources.
The case was prosecuted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Logan T. Tedrow. McCord was represented by defense attorney Steven Teverbaugh. The investigation was led by the Petersburg Police Department, with Corporal Taylor Deffendoll serving as the lead investigator.
Deffendoll has since accepted a position as a fraud investigator with German American Bank after her service with the department.
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