Argos Standoff Ends With Several Arrests

Shortly after 1 p.m. today, members of the Indiana State Police Emergency Response Section responded to the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department alongside members of the Marshall County Drug Task Force and the Plymouth Police Department to serve a search warrant in Marshall County. The home was located in Argos at 5663 18th Road near the intersection of Filbert and 18th roads.

Authorities had previously obtained a search warrant for the trailer from a previous investigation conducted by the Marshall County Drug Task Force, and police now suspected that the subjects that were believed to be staying at the residence were possibly armed.

Emergency Response officers quickly arrived at the home and immediately deployed a flash-bang device near the front door and contacted the occupants using a loudspeaker. Within five minutes, a male subject identified as Mark Howard and a female, Stephanie Johnson, exited the trailer, but a third subject refused to exit, identified as Billie Minix.

Officers attempted to talk to Minix for several minutes but he refused to comply, so the ERS officers broke open two windows and the west wall of the trailer with a Humvee and a push bar before shooting tear gas into the home at around 1:45 p.m. in an effort to get Minix to surrender. About half an hour later, Minix surrendered and exited the home.

Billie J. Minix, 50, of Knox was initially arrested for a parole violation warrant through Knox County. However, Minix may be facing additional charges in Marshall County.

Mark B. Howard, 29, of 5663 18th Rd., currently faces a felony charge of dealing methamphetamine. Stephanie Johnson, 36, of Plymouth, was arrested on an outstanding warrant for probation violation in Marshall County. Prior to the house being raided, a fourth subject, Shawn Speirs, 40, of Argos, was stopped by a Marshall County Deputy on a traffic stop and arrested on a felony warrant for dealing methamphetamine. Speirs is an associate of Minix and Howard. All four subjects were taken to the Marshall County Jail.