Jury Convicts Lawrenceburg Drug Dealer

Friday, December 16, 2011 at 6:29 AM

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – A Lawrenceburg man who was caught dealing cocaine has been dealt four guilty verdicts.

After a four day trial ending Thursday, Roy Bessler, 64, was convicted by a jury in Dearborn Superior Court I of four counts of Dealing in Cocaine, according to the Dearborn County Prosecutor’s Office.

Two of the charges were Class A felonies for dealing over three grams of cocaine and the other two were Class B felonies.

Bessler came under investigation by detectives with the Dearborn County Sheriff’s Office and Dearborn County Special Crimes Unit in January of this year. Investigators continued their investigation for two months, conducting surveillance and staging cocaine purchases from Bessler on four occasions.

The investigation culminated when police executed a search warrant at Bessler’s Park Place apartment February 24. Drugs were found inside.

Dearborn-Ohio County Prosecutor Aaron Negangard commended the work of the Dearborn County Special Crimes Unit, Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department, and Lawrenceburg and Rising Sun police departments for their work in the investigation.

Bessler faces decades in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Jonathan Cleary on January 6.