Two defendants charged with a felony level of possession of methamphetamine were sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning.
Debra Trusty, 46, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the prosecutor’s office to the charge. She admitted that she was in possession of the drug while in a police vehicle while enroute to the Starke County Jail on Dec. 5, 2015. Trusty’s attorney, Leslie Baker, explained that she successfully completed treatment and is gainfully employed. She is also attempting to make changes in her life to keep herself sober.
Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall accepted the plea agreement between the parties which calls for a 24 month sentence in the Starke County Justice Center. The sentence was suspended to be served on administrative probation. Trusty must follow all of the programs recommended by the probation department. Baker argued to reduce the felony conviction to a misdemeanor charge in order for Trusty to remain employed. The request was granted by Judge Hall.
Tabitha Letson, 23, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to a charge of possession of methamphetamine. She admitted that she was in possession of the drug on April 28, 2017 when arrested in Starke County. She was sentenced per the terms of the plea agreement which called for a 24 month sentence in the Starke County Justice Center with all of the sentence suspended to be served on probation. Letson is required to follow all of the programs recommended by the probation department.
A $100 fine will be paid to the Starke County Clerk’s Office to be deposited into the Tactical Narcotics fund, if that action is deemed legal. Judge Hall explained that fines are usually paid to the clerk and is disbursed in a certain manner, so that requirement in the plea agreement is dependent on the legality of that transaction.
Letson told Judge Hall that she recently successfully completed an in-custody drug rehabilitation program and believes the skills she learned in that class will help her as she serves her sentence and beyond that time.
