Four arrested in drug investigation

A family called police asking for help finding their daughter, a 21-year-old who is addicted to heroin, who was believed to be staying at a home in Franklin.

Neighbors of that home in the Heritage subdivision have been calling police for months, reporting suspicious behavior, such as vehicles arriving at odd hours and parking away from the home, then people walking up to the house, staying for only a few minutes, and leaving, police reports and court documents said.

This week, Franklin police searched the home after getting call after call from the public, warning them that the house at 1062 Millstone Court was possibly being used to sell drugs.

Detectives launched an investigation, gathered evidence that meth was being used and sold and counterfeit money was being printed inside, and got a search warrant.

They went to search the home on Thursday morning with the county SWAT team, and arrested four people on a total of 13 charges, mostly felonies.

The suspects arrested are:

Robyn M. Pauszek, 30, 1062 Millstone Court, arrested on four felony charges of possession of methamphetamine, maintaining a common nuisance, counterfeiting and possession of a syringe. Pauszek owns the home.

Hannah L. Padgett, 21, 1062 Millstone Court, arrested on two felony charges, possession of methamphetamine and possession of a syringe, and a misdemeanor charge of visiting a common nuisance.

Gary Robert Shear, 25, 1572 Roberts Road, Franklin, arrested on a felony charge of possession of a syringe and a misdemeanor charge of visiting a common nuisance.

Madison K. Kristel, 20, 3191 Golfview Drive, Greenwood, arrested on two felony charges of counterfeiting and possession of a syringe, and two misdemeanor charges, possession of paraphernalia and visiting a common nuisance.

During the search on Thursday morning, police found methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia such as a pipe and syringes, and a printer with counterfeit money inside, Franklin police said.

Since the beginning of the year, police have gathered evidence of people connected to the home selling methamphetamine, and residents have reported odd behavior.

For example, in January, three males in a vehicle outside the home were honking the horn, trying to wake up the resident at 12:45 a.m. A neighbor called police.

Less than two weeks later, parents called police asking for help finding their daughter, who was addicted to heroin. They thought she was living at the house on Millstone. Police couldn’t get anyone to answer the door when they went to look for her but could hear voices inside asking who had called the police, according to court documents.

During the investigation, police also found evidence that methamphetamine was being used in the home and that the residents were making counterfeit money, court documents said. The evidence was enough to get a search warrant.

Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper will decide what, if any, charges to file against the suspects in both cases. All four were arrested and taken to the Johnson County jail.

According to court records, Pauszek is a convicted felon, and Shear has been charged with felonies, including a drug possession charge, in an unrelated case. Kristel has been convicted of misdemeanor drug charges in an unrelated case and Padgett was already facing a misdemeanor conversion charge.

This is the second home Franklin police have searched this month due, in part, to neighbors reporting suspected drug activity.

Last week, Franklin police searched a home in the Knollwood subdivision after receiving at least five reports of suspected drug dealing. Five people were arrested on charges that included felony drug dealing from that investigation. Three of the suspects in that case are 18 years old, and one is a juvenile.