Indiana county's attorney faces meth-dealing charges

NEW CASTLE, Ind. (AP) - The attorney for an eastern Indiana county who once served as its top prosecutor has been charged with dealing methamphetamines.

Martin R. Shields, 67, was arrested Tuesday and charged in Henry Circuit Court with two counts of dealing in meth and two counts of possession of meth. Shields, of New Castle, was released from the county jail after posting a $25,000 surety bond and a $2,200 cash bond.

Court documents allege that an informant wearing audio- and video-recording equipment for the Henry County Area Drug Task Force obtained meth from Shields during transactions earlier this month, The Star Press reported.

That person had allegedly been to Shields' home 'Å“on several occasions and observed methamphetamines in plain view and had been given (meth) in the past, sometimes for money and sometimes for free," according to court records.

Rush County Prosecutor Philip J. Caviness has been appointed special prosecutor in the case.

A message seeking comment from Shields was left Wednesday afternoon by The Associated Press at his New Castle office.

Shields, who has practiced law in Indiana for more than 40 years, was appointed county attorney by the Henry County commissioners in January.

He was elected Henry County prosecutor in 1982, but resigned from that post in 1984.