A former Knox woman pleaded guilty in a plea agreement in Starke Circuit Court Thursday afternoon to a Level 4 Felony charge of possession of methamphetamine.
The plea agreement for 40-year-old Traci Jacobs was negotiated between the Starke County Prosecutor’s Office and Defense Attorney Richard Ballard who left it up to Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall to sentence her to an appropriate sentence within the range of a Level 4 Felony which is 2-12 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections.
Jacobs admitted to Judge Hall that on May 11, 2019, she was in possession of at least 10 grams of methamphetamine after a Knox K9 officer found it in a search of her vehicle during a traffic stop in Knox.
Judge Hall reviewed her extensive criminal history, including two lengthy prison sentences, and determined it to outweigh several mitigating factors in her case. He found mitigating factors to be that her drive to become a person outside of drug abuse is strong and that she is developing relationships with her children for the first time in her life. Her children also submitted letters to Judge Hall to enter into the record. Judge Hall also found that her steady employment and her new residence located away from bad influences were mitigating factors, or factors in her favor. He also credited her for not being arrested in the past 14 months and having passed all of her drug screenings since she was incarcerated in May of 2019. Jacobs has been on supervision through Starke County Court Services for the last several months without violations.
Judge Hall sentenced Jacobs to 12 years to be served under the level of supervision deemed appropriate by Starke County Court Services with zero tolerance of drugs and alcohol. She will need to participate in any programs deemed necessary by Starke County Court Services. She has to pay a $250 drug interdiction fee and court costs. Jacobs can petition the court to modify the sentence at any time. If she violates these terms, she will be ordered to serve the remainder of her sentence in the Indiana Department of Corrections.
