Four arrested after heroin bust

MERCER COUNTY, Ohio (WANE) - Four people are facing felony charges after police officers observed a heroin purchase in a parking lot in Mercer County.

Police said they acted on a tip and watched a woman purchase suspected heroin from a person in a parking lot on N. Main Street, south of the CVS Pharmacy, around 12:50 p.m. Thursday. Police stopped both vehicles involved in the transaction on Main Street.

Police say Zachary Sams, 23, the driver of the first car, sold suspected heroin to Kristie Gillette, 19. Sams was also found with additional heroin in his car. Sams is facing charges of drug trafficking and possession of heroin. 

According to police, the second car had four people in it when it was stopped. Police interviewed each person separately.

Police said after Gillette purchased the heroin, she went back to the car and gave it to Michelle Sepulveda, 42. According to police, Sepulveda and the third person in the car, Casey Hatcher, 20, bought the heroin to share.

Officers said the fourth person in the car, David Thokey, appears to have only been serving as a driver for the three women. Thokey was charged with driving left of center and released at the scene.

Sams, Gillette, Sepulveda, and Hatcher were taken to the Mercer County Adult Detention Center and appeared in Celina Municipal Court Friday morning. 

Police said Sams and Gillette were charged with trafficking in heroin, a felony.

Sepulveda and Hatcher were charged with possession of heroin, also a felony. 

Each are being held in the Mercer County Adult Detention Center on a $50,000 bond.