Local man arrested for dealing heroin

City police arrested a Bloomington man Saturday for dealing heroin on an arrest warrant stemming from an investigation started in May.

Bloomington Police Department investigators made three controlled buys during May and June from Jermaine Obryan Hardin, 27, in a Walnut Grove apartment, according to court documents.

Police informants bought .3 grams of heroin during the first and third buys and .5 grams during the second, according to court documents.

“I find that hard to believe,” Michelle Dixon said about the three counts of dealing heroin. “I’ve known him since middle school.”

Dixon said Hardin is her boyfriend and that the two have been living together since July 19.

Dixon and Hardin’s sister and mother waited outside the court room Monday for Hardin’s initial 1:30 p.m. hearing.

Hardin’s mother said two private investigators asked her if her son was selling drugs. She told them no.

Police were unable to locate Hardin after the third controlled buy because Hardin moved out, according to court documents. Hardin’s mother held the apartment’s lease.
“His birthday was yesterday,” Jermaine’s sister Paulette Hardin said Monday. “He’s missing out on his life.”

A Monroe County Jail official said Hardin is being held on preliminary charges of dealing a controlled substance, a class A felony, and criminal mischief, a class B misdemeanor, with bond set at $50,000 surety and $500 cash for the felony charge and $1,000 surety and $500 cash for the misdemeanor.

Hardin’s two preliminary charges are for two different cases. The misdemeanor charge stems from a case opened in January 2013 involving property damage.

Hardin was convicted in 2008 for intimidation and in 2010 for resisting law enforcement and battery resulting in bodily injury against a police officer, all class D felonies.

Dennis Barbosa