Two Dunelanders were booked into the Porter County Jail on Wednesday on a charge of dealing in a Schedule IV substance, the Porter County Sheriff’s Police said.

According to police, Jacklyn Nicole Shudick, 18, of 1109-1N 350E in Jackson Township, was arrested on that charge at 1:20 p.m. by the PCSP, while Kenneth Gregory Ranegar Jr., 21, of 908 S. 18th St. in Chesterton, was arrested on the same charge at 3:30 p.m. by the PCSP.

Dealing in a Schedule IV substance is a Class C felony punishable by a term of two years to eight years.

Both arrests stem from separate investigations conducted by the Porter County Drug Task Force (DTF), Jeff Biggs of the DTF told the Chesterton Tribune today.

Biggs said that both Shudick and Ranegar are accused of dealing Xanax.

The DTF is currently “focusing on the selling and buying of prescription medications,” Biggs noted. “It’s very prevalent right now. A lot of the overdose deaths in Porter County are the result of combinations of prescription medications and other ones. It’s that cocktail that’s doing the damage. The pills are readily available. That’s another angle to fighting overdose deaths.”

The DTF has been especially active in Duneland over the last few months, Biggs added. “Little by little we’re filing our cases.”

Posted 1/7/2010