A North Judson man was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning on two counts of dealing in a narcotic drug as a Level 5 Felony.
Christianson Shepherd, 24, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement between the defense and the Starke County Prosecuting Attorney on the charges. He admitted to Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall that he sold heroin on Nov. 28, 2018 and Nov. 29, 2018 in North Judson for $150 during each sale. He apparently sold heroin to an undercover narcotics agent.
The initial dealing charge was determined as a Level 4 Felony, but upon analysis at a laboratory the weight of the drugs that were sold did not classify as a Level 4 Felony so Shepherd pleaded guilty to the lesser included counts of dealing in a narcotic drug as a Level 5 Felony. All other charges were dismissed upon the acceptance of the plea agreement by Judge Hall.
Judge Hall determined that a factor in Shepherd’s favor was that he has no prior criminal record, but found Shepherd’s lack of motivation to obtain a GED was an aggravating factor.
Shepherd told Judge Hall that he did seek treatment on his own for his addiction to drugs following his release from the Starke County Justice Center on a $50,000 surety bond. He claimed that he maintained a clean and sober lifestyle all the way until his sentencing hearing Wednesday morning.
The plea agreement called for a discretionary sentence where Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Micah Cox and Defense Attorney Richard Ballard made arguments for a sentence. Judge Hall sentenced Shepherd to the negotiated cap of four years with no part of the sentence suspended for both felony charges which will be served concurrently, or at the same time. Half of his sentence will be served in the Starke County Justice Center with the other half to be served under the recommended supervision of Starke County Court Services. He was ordered to obtain his GED and pay court costs, a drug interdiction fee of $250, and fees associated with Starke County Court Services programming. He may petition the court to modify his sentence at any time.
