A Knox man who pleaded guilty to charges of dealing and possessing methamphetamine will serve time on work release.
Alexander Chambers, 30, admitted to Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall that he claimed a pipe was his when a vehicle was searched during a traffic stop on July 24, 2018 and that he and a co-defendant worked to sell 3.5 grams of methamphetamine worth $150 to a person on Facebook not knowing that the person was an undercover officer.
He pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with Defense Attorney Timothy Lemon and the Starke County Prosecutor’s office on charges of possession of methamphetamine as a Level 6 Felony and dealing in methamphetamine as a Level 4 Felony. Judge Hall accepted the agreement.
On the possession charge, Chambers will serve 30 months in the Indiana Department of Corrections with no part of the sentence suspended. He also pleaded guilty to a charge of Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Level 4 Felony. He will serve 7 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with two years of the sentence suspended to be served on probation. The sentences will be served consecutively.
Chambers is permitted to serve the executed portion of his sentence on work release through La Porte County Community Corrections.
Judge Hall stated that he planned to reject the plea agreement, but saw that Chambers could earn wages through work release to help support his wife and four children. Attorney Lemon also noted that Chambers has completed three phases of the horticulture program while incarcerated in the Starke County Justice Center. He is also nearly complete with an in-custody substance abuse treatment program with graduation yet this month. Chambers has also worked in the kitchen while incarcerated and proved himself as a trustee at the Justice Center.
Judge Hall also noted that several family members were in the courtroom to support him in this next phase which he reflected as part of the record as a mitigating factor, or a factor in his favor, in this hearing.
Chambers can petition the court to modify his sentence at any time. Judge Hall said if Chambers violates any terms of the plea agreement or probation, he will be remanded to the custody of the Indiana Department of Corrections to serve out his sentence.
