Kenneth Kamerer Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

A former Starke County resident pleaded guilty to a charge of maintaining a common nuisance in a hearing in Starke Circuit Court Thursday morning.

Kenneth Kaemerer, 48, admitted to Magistrate Jeanene Calabrese that prescription drugs and other illegal substances were in his residence when police arrived there on April 8, 2018 to execute arrest warrants after a year-long undercover investigation. 

Magistrate Calabrese accepted the plea agreement after noting he didn’t have a criminal record on file, he’s been out of jail on pre-trial release for a year and has passed several drug screens within that time, he’s working, and the proposed sentence in the plea agreement is above the advisory sentence.

The plea agreement negotiated between Defense Attorney Timothy Lemon and Special Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Rowan from Lake County called for Kaemerer to plead guilty to a charge of maintaining a common nuisance as a Level 6 Felony.  Kaemerer, who now resides in Medaryville, pleaded guilty to that charge and will serve 18 months in the Starke County Justice Center with all of that sentence suspended to be served on probation.  He will undergo substance abuse evaluations and will participate in any programs recommended by the Starke County Probation Department.  He may petition to modify his sentence at any time.