Delaware County man admits to trying to smuggle meth to son in Blackford County jail

HARTFORD CITY, Ind. — A Delaware County man admitted trying to smuggle meth to his son through a small hole in a window at the Blackford County Jail.

After striking a deal with Blackford County prosecutors, Michael David Engle, 55, of Albany, also this week acknowledged involving a younger son in his criminal activities.

In Blackford Circuit Court on Monday, Engle — not to be confused with the retired Muncie police officer with the same name — pleaded guilty to trafficking with an inmate and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, both Level 5 felonies carrying up to six years in prison.

Judge Brian Bade took the plea bargain — which does not specify the length of Engle’s sentence — under advisement, and tentatively set sentencing for April 22.

The deal calls for dismissal of three related charges pending against the Albany man — conspiracy to commit dealing in meth, neglect of a dependent and criminal mischief.

More: Another Muncie man strikes plea deal in federal trafficking case

According to court documents, recordings of phone conversations last October between Engle and his older son, Cody — then held in the Blackford County Jail after being charged with auto theft and fraud — revealed plans to smuggle drugs into the jail through a cell window.

(Cody Engle, now 28, is scheduled to enter a guilty plea in the auto theft case on April 4.)

Investigators said Michael Engle also involved his younger son, Jaxon, 17, in the efforts to smuggle drugs to Cody.

In December, Jaxon Engle was waived into adult court in Delaware County after being accused of participating in events that led to fatal overdoses for two other local teens.

Jaxon Engle is scheduled to stand trial June 18 in Delaware Circuit Court 1 on charges that include two counts of dealing in a controlled substance resulting in death, a Level 1 felony carrying up to 40 years in prison.

The charges stem from local fentanyl transactions that eventually led to the two overdose deaths — of an 18-year-old Muncie man last July and a 17-year-old Delaware County high school student in September.

Michael Engle was convicted of six crimes in 2022 — contributing to the delinquency of a minor, neglect of a dependent, obstruction of justice, possession of a narcotic drug and unlawful possession of a syringe, all in Madison County, and possession of meth, in Randolph County.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.