A New Holland man has been sentenced in Highland County Common Pleas Court to at least 10 months in prison for aggravated possession of methamphetamine.

James Picklesimer, 38, was sentenced to 10 months in prison for one count of aggravated possession of meth, a fifth-degree felony. Picklesimer was given 23 days of jail-time credit.

According to court records, on April 11, 2021, a family member of a deceased woman called the Fayette County 911 Dispatch Center after they discovered the deceased, along with drug paraphernalia and a used Narcan container. While a detective was speaking to someone related to the deceased, they learned another family member received a phone call from someone saying James Picklesimer and a female were present at the time the person had died and unsuccessfully tried to revive her. Picklesimer and the female then fled the scene in the deceased person’s vehicle.

A deputy located the stolen vehicle while it was parked in front of the Greystone Motel just east of Hillsboro. A brief time after the deputy located the vehicle, two people fled from the motel on foot. The detective reviewed video footage from the motel and positively identified the subjects that fled as Picklesimer and the female. Registration records for the motel room indicated that it was registered to the female.

A search warrant for the motel room was obtained and executed. A plastic bag that contained a metal spoon holding an unknown substance was found on the sink in the motel room. A black plastic container that contained an unknown substance was found on the bed in the room.

On April 14, 2021, the Highland County Sheriff’s Office received a report of two suspicious people walking on S.R. 138 near Stoney Point Road who matched the descriptions of Picklesimer and the female. Two detectives responded to that area to investigate and saw two people walking and waving their arms in an attempt to find a ride. The detectives stopped and identified them as Picklesimer and the female. Both had active warrants for their arrest.

One of the detectives took the female into custody and the other detective took Picklesimer into custody. During the detective’s search of the female, the officer found an unknown substance which the other person said was meth and heroin. The other detective found a similar substance on Picklesimer.

The substances were submitted to BCI for analysis. The substances found in the motel room, and on Picklesimer and the female were all found to contain meth.

Reach Jacob Clary at 937-402-2570.