A Starke County man was sentenced per the terms of a plea agreement in Starke Circuit Court Tuesday afternoon on two separate charges of possession of methamphetamine.
Rodney Snyder, 53, was charged with possession of methamphetamine as a Level 6 Felony stemming from an incident on September 22, 2019. He was charged with possession of methamphetamine as a Level 4 Felony stemming from an incident on December 13, 2019 in Starke County. The amount of methamphetamine in the Level 4 charge was determined to be at least 10 grams but less than 28 grams.
Snyder admitted to Magistrate Jeanene Calabrese that he began taking methamphetamines in 2017 to gather more energy which started an addiction that has led to a series of arrests. He has since participated in rehabilitation programs while incarcerated in the Starke County Justice Center and is currently on the waiting list for a Moral Recognition Therapy class. He is a trustee at the Starke County Justice Center and participates in the F.A.R.M. program.
Magistrate Calabrese noted that Snyder had a lack of criminal history up until three years ago when his addiction began.
Magistrate Calabrese accepted the discretionary plea agreement negotiated between the State and the defense. The plea agreement capped the sentence at seven years. Calabrese sentenced Snyder to the advisory sentence of one year on the Level 6 Felony charge of possession of methamphetamine and the advisory sentence of six years on the Level 4 Felony charge of possession of methamphetamine. Those sentences will run consecutively to be served in the Indiana Department of Corrections. He will need to complete the Recovery While Incarcerated program while in prison. If he successfully completes the program, he may petition the court to modify his sentence. Snyder will need to pay a $250 drug interdiction fee and court costs, along with a $200 pauper counsel fee.
This sentence will be served consecutively to a sentence yet to be determined in Marshall County.
