Accused of Battery, Confinement, and Domestic Violence, Richard Garrison, Jr. plead guilty to Battery as a Class C felony in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday, Oct. 5. The state, as part of the accepted plea agreement, dismissed the charges of confinement and domestic violence. Garrison admitted that during an argument, he slammed a door closed on a woman’s arm.
The victim in this case has told prosecutors that she is satisfied with the plea agreement, which sentences Garrison to four years in the Department of Corrections. Two years of that time would be suspended, allowing him to serve it on probation. He would also undergo an assessment by Community Corrections, and submit to treatment focused on Batterer’s Invervention and substance abuse programs.
Because Garrison has not yet undergone a pre-sentence investigation, Judge Kim Hall had to reschedule the sentencing to a date that has yet to be determined in order for that investigation to be completed.
After forging several checks to the North Judson Express gas station, Stephanie Stoll, 24, from North Judson, has been sentenced for one count of Theft. As part of their plea agreement, Prosecutor Nick Bourff agreed to dismiss a count of forgery.
Stoll admitted that between Jan. 30 and 31, she had stolen checks from a friend whom she lived with and forged them to purchase gas at a gas station. A total of $81.70 was spent over several days. She was sentenced to a two-year sentence in the Department of Corrections, with the entirety of that sentence to be suspended and served on probation. Stoll will be required to pay court costs and restitution to the gas station within 60 days. After successfully completing probation and without any further convictions, she can ask for her Theft as a Class D felony to be dropped to a Class A misdemeanor.
A man currently in jail for Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated received his sentence for one count of Theft in court as well. Dale Chlebek was sentenced to 14 months in the Department of Corrections, with none of that sentence to be suspended. His time to be served will run consecutively with his charge of OVWI, and he will have to submit to a DNA swab to be added to the state’s DNA database.
