A woman was sentenced to serve probation in a hearing in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning.
Heather Castaneda pleaded guilty in a plea agreement the state to charges of neglect of a dependent as a Class D felony and possession of marijuana as a Class A misdemeanor. She admitted that she did not give a dependent proper care which resulted in a health issue.
Starke Circuit Court Magistrate Jeanene Calabrese accepted the plea agreement and sentenced Castaneda, 26, per the terms of that agreement. She was ordered to serve 24 months in the Department of Corrections on the charge of neglect of a dependent with all of the sentence suspended to be served on probation. Castaneda was also sentenced to 12 months in the Starke County Jail with the entire sentence suspended to be served on probation. The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently, or at the same time.
