Charles Miltenberger III, 23, pleaded guilty in plea agreements with the state to three counts in two different cases in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday morning.
Miltenberger pleaded guilty in one case to Class D felony counts of auto theft and arson. He admitted that he stole a 1999 Grand Prix on the side of the road by Hamlet on May 12, 2014. He also admitted that he set that vehicle on fire.
In another case, he pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal recklessness as a Class D felony. He told the court that he punched another inmate while incarcerated in the Starke County Jail. The assault happened after he found out that the other inmate was a sex offender. Miltenberger added that the inmate “ran his mouth” and he punched him and attempted to choke him. The inmate suffered a fractured nose as a result of the incident.
Judge Kim Hall noted that Miltenberger has an extensive criminal history. Miltenberger’s defense attorney asked Judge Hall to accept the plea agreement as it would be consecutive to other cases in St. Joseph County and in Marshall County where he faces auto theft, theft and probation violation charges. Those cases are not resolved.
Judge Hall did accept the plea agreements where he was sentenced to 18 months in the Indiana Department of Corrections with none suspended on all counts. The auto theft and arson counts will be served consecutively while the criminal recklessness charge will be served concurrently to those two counts. He will serve a total of three years in the DOC. Probation was not included in his sentence and he will not able to modify the sentence with the court. Miltenberger was also ordered to pay restitution of $3,000 plus all court costs.