Levi Lakes Sentenced to 10-year Prison Sentence

 
 
Levi Lakes was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Monday morning.

Lakes was in court last week where he pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state on a charge of Dealing in a Narcotic Drug. Judge Kim Hall sentenced Lakes to 10 years in the Department of Corrections with no part of that sentence suspended.

If Lakes successfully completes the CLIFF or GRIP program for drug rehabilitation while incarcerated, he may petition the court for a modification of his sentence.

David Heineman, Sr. Sentenced to Six Years on Meth Charge

David Heineman
David Heineman, Sr.

David Heineman, Sr.  was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning.

Heineman, Sr. pleaded guilty to a a Class B felony charge of Possession of Methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school. Heineman, Sr. admitted in open court that on Apr. 7, 2012, he did possess the drug while at his residence on Lake Street, which is less than 1,000 feet from the Marshall/Starke Head Start school.

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Four Plea Agreements Rejected in Starke Circuit Court

Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall rejected plea agreements in four cases yesterday.

Judge Hall rejected a plea agreement for 18-year-old Martin Noble because he didn’t pay his $100 public defender fee and he didn’t have the paperwork filed for his evaluation into community corrections in time for his hearing. His case was set for a status hearing for Friday, Feb. 7 at 9 a.m.

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Hanley “Warren” Chapman Plea Agreement Rejected

Hanley Warren Chapman
Hanley Warren Chapman

A plea agreement for Hanley “Warren” Chapman was rejected by Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall Wednesday morning.

Judge Hall told those assembled in court that he had questions about the factual basis regarding his charge of Resisting Law Enforcement. According to court documents, Chapman was situated in a basement room when police were outside the home verbally attempting to get him out of the residence in North Judson. No physical force was used to take him into custody.

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Jerrod Hammond Sentenced to 20 Years in DOC; Steven Sandoval Receives Eight Year Sentence

 Two sentence hearings were held in Starke Circuit Court on Thursday.

Judge Kim Hall sentenced a man to the maximum prison term allowed for a charge with a Class B felony classification.

Jerrod Hammond pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to amended criminal information and a charge of Child Molestation as a Class B felony. Judge Hall sentenced Hammond to 20 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with no part of the sentence suspended. A second count of Child Molestation as a Class D felony was dropped.

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Knox Woman Sentenced to 16 Years

Starke County Courthouse
Starke County Courthouse

A Knox woman received a 16-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in a plea agreement with the state to several charges.

Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall sentenced Sherry Wireman, 51, to ten years in the Indiana Department of Corrections on a charge of Dealing in Methamphetamine, a Class B felony. She was also sentenced to three years on Class D felony charge of Possession of Methamphetamine and an additional three years on a Class D felony charge of Possession of Precursors or Chemical Reagents.

The sentences were ordered to run consecutively for a total of 16 years. She was ordered to have purposeful incarceration and if she successfully completes a drug rehabilitation program while incarcerated, she may petition the court for a sentence modification.

National Adoption Day Ceremony and CASA Swearing-In Scheduled

Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall

Starke Circuit Court will be joining courts across the country in celebrating National Adoption Day on Friday, Nov. 22, when Judge Kim Hall will be swearing in new Court Appointed Special Advocates following a ceremony in his courtroom.

More than 3200 children currently in foster care in Indiana are ready and waiting to be adopted. National Adoption Day is a collective national effort to raise awareness of children like these who are waiting for a forever family. All of these children are in their situation through no fault of their own; many are in the foster care system because their birth parents were not protective and nurturing caregivers or chose to abuse or simply abandon them.

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Starke County Officials Break Ground on New Jail

 
 
Work will start next week on the new Starke County Sheriff’s Department and Detention Center. County officials turned ceremonial shovels of dirt yesterday during the official groundbreaking for the $14 million project. The 146 bed jail will replace the existing 63 bed facility across from the courthouse. It opened in 1976, and Sheriff Oscar Cowen says a lot has changed since he joined the department in May of 1980.

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Wireman Cases Will Not Go to Trial

Starke County Courthouse
Starke County Courthouse

Sadie Wireman and Michael Wireman’s cases will not go to trial in Starke Circuit Court.

During a hearing held Tuesday, their defense attorney and the prosecuting attorney presented an agreed recommendation for a sentence for their guilty pleas. The mother and son would be pleading guilty to an amended charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance as a Class D felony. Judge Kim Hall will review the recommended sentence and a sentencing hearing was set for Thursday, Dec. 5 at 9 a.m.

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Plea Agreements Rejected in Starke Circuit Court

 Plea and sentencing hearings were held in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning. All plea agreements presented in court were rejected by Judge Kim Hall.

A jury trial was set for Jan. 15 at 9 a.m. for Sarah Mills. Mills, 20, is charged with Possession of a Narcotic (heroin). She was not able to participate adequately when questioned under oath. Police reportedly found a baggie with heroin residue in her vehicle when the vehicle was searched on July 7.

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Mother and Son Going to Trial in Starke Circuit Court

Starke County Courthouse
Starke County Courthouse
Medaryville residents Michael Wireman and Sadie Wireman are headed to trial and it will be determined at a hearing on Oct. 30 whether or not the pair will be tried at the same time.

Both Michael Wireman and Sadie Wireman’s cases were set for change of plea and sentencing hearings in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning. The court received a letter from both of them stating that they would not be pleading guilty in plea agreements and would like to go to trial.

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Brian Tapia Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

Brian Tapia
Brian Tapia

An admitted methamphetamine addict was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court Wednesday morning.

Brian Tapia, 27 of Plymouth, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to a charge of Possession of Methamphetamine as a Class D felony. Judge Kim Hall sentenced Tapia per the plea agreement to 18 months in the Department of Corrections with no part of that sentence suspended. The sentence will be served on home detention with day reporting.

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Mullins, Wireman Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall sentenced two offenders in his court yesterday after they pleaded guilty in separate plea agreements with the state.

Avery Mullins pleaded guilty to a charge of Dealing a Narcotic Drug – Heroin as a Class B felony. Judge Hall sentenced Mullins to 10 years in the Department of Corrections with no part of that sentence suspended. If Mullins successfully completes the CLIFF or GRIP program while in prison, he may petition the court for a modification of his sentence. Mullins will serve this sentence consecutively with a previous sentence.

Aaron Wireman pleaded guilty to a charge of Counterfeiting and received a sentence of 30 months in the Department of Corrections with no part of the sentence suspended. He will serve this sentence consecutively with a previous sentence.

CASA Volunteers Needed in Starke County

 
 
Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA, volunteers are needed to shepherd abused or neglected children who are taken from their parents by the state through the court system. Starke Circuit Judge Kim Hall says that happens for a variety of reasons.

“We have pregnant mothers who intentionally abuse drugs, and then their babies are born with harmful drugs in their bodies. Children are often raised around dangerous meth labs, which is an epidemic in this county. Those labs give off toxic chemicals. You know one in four children in Starke County lives in poverty, and we’ve had children living in homes that are completely uninhabitable. We’ve had evidence where snow’s coming through the walls in the winter time,” said Hall.

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Two Cases Set for Trial in Starke Circuit Court

Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Two plea agreements were rejected by Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall on Thursday and both cases were set for trial in September.

Michael Wireman, 30 of Medaryville, was set to plead guilty in a plea agreement with the state, but he did not satisfy a portion of the terms of that agreement before the sentencing hearing. In the agreement, it stated that the defendant shall be evaluated with written notice of acceptance into the Starke County Community Corrections home detention program and he did not set up an appointment for evaluation.

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Amber Lain Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

 
 
A 22-year-old woman was sentenced in Starke Circuit Court on Wednesday morning on charges of Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Class B felony and Neglect of a Dependent a Class C felony.

Amber Lain admitted to Judge Kim Hall that she was in a home in which she lived with Johnny Mullens that had an active methamphetamine lab, precursors and drug paraphernalia in the presence of her son at the time a search warrant was executed at that residence on March 1. She admitted that she purchased ingredients for the manufacture of methamphetamine but never participated in the actual cooking of the harmful drug. She stated that she was usually at work when the drug was made and her son was usually in the home when that activity occurred.

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Medaryville Woman Admits Drinking Problem in Starke Circuit Court Hearing

Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall rejected a plea agreement Wednesday morning for 49-year-old Patricia Vega of Medaryville and suggested she seek drug and/or alcohol treatment before her next court hearing.

Patricia Vega had agreed to plead guilty in a plea agreement with the state to a charge of Possession of a Legend Drug as a Class D felony. As part of the plea agreement, she would serve 24 months in the Department of Corrections with 12 months suspended to be served on home detention.

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Plea Agreement Rejected in Shawn Smith’s Case

Starke County Courthouse
Starke County Courthouse
A plea agreement was rejected by Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall in the case of Shawn Smith in a hearing Wednesday morning.

Smith had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of Receiving Stolen Property as a Class D felony in two separate cases. He admitted to stealing a John Deere Gator, a compressor and a welder from a storage shed in Holland, Mich. and attempting to sell those items in Starke County. A potential buyer believed that the item he was about to purchase was stolen and called the Starke County Sheriff’s Department. Smith was subsequently arrested. That occurred in January.

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Armentrout Sentenced to 10 Years in DOC for Child Molesting

 
 

Having pleaded guilty in a plea agreement to one count of Child Molesting as a Class B felony, 19-year-old Zackary Armentrout received his sentence in the Starke Circuit Court this afternoon. The plea agreement left the sentencing up to the court, and Judge Kim Hall heard a number of witnesses called by attorney David Geisler on behalf of Armentrout.

The first witness was the defendants mother, who told the court that the 13-year-old victim in the case “had a crush on” Armentrout and the two were seen together often. She said the defendant had moved out of her home to move in with friends because Armentrout wanted to drink alcohol and do other things that his mother would not let him to do. While there, the defendant admitted he had sex twice with the victim, who also lived at the residence.

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8-Year Sentence Given in Starke Circuit Court for Dealing in Methamphetamine

Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall
An eight-year sentence was handed down to Khatrina Lindsey in the Starke Circuit Court yesterday afternoon for her conviction of Dealing in Methamphetamine as a Class B felony. Lindsey admitted to purchasing pseudoephedrine to be used in the manufacture of methamphetamine by a subject who had agreed to manufacture the drug for her.

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