Warsaw Woman Gets Sentenced To Probation For Trafficking With Inmate
September 29, 2020 at 1:02 a.m.
By Amanda [email protected]
Morgan Hepler, 26, of 710 N. Cook St., Warsaw, appeared Monday in front of Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Mike Reed and was sentenced to one year in the Kosciusko County Jail for a Level 6 felony conviction of attempted dealing in a controlled substance. Hepler was originally charged with a Level 5 felony for trafficking with an inmate, but a plea agreement changed the terms. Her year sentence was suspended to formal probation. She was also ordered to continue seeking treatment in the Indiana Professionals Recovery Program (IPRP).
On June 23, 2019, Hepler was arrested after she put a cell phone and Vyvanse pills in the trash can in the women’s public bathroom at KCJ. The contraband was found by a jail officer who was emptying the trash. Hepler’s intentions were for an inmate trustee to empty the trash that day and receive the goods.
Investigators used recorded phone calls to determine Hepler was the person who put the items there, and she was arrested while at the jail participating in a video visitation with an inmate.
In court Monday, Hepler’s attorney, Jack Birch, told Reed that his client is a smart person and a registered nurse. That nursing license is currently suspended, Birch said, but that his client is working through the IPRP to fix the situation.
“I’ve definitely learned my lesson for my mistakes,” Hepler told Reed. “I got tangled up in the wrong crowds. ... It’s been quite an eye-opener. I just want to get back to providing for my kids.”
Reed told Hepler that he believes she can get the help she needs through the program and hopes she does so.
“Sometimes, overcoming things shows our true character,” he said.
Latest News
E-Editions
Morgan Hepler, 26, of 710 N. Cook St., Warsaw, appeared Monday in front of Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Mike Reed and was sentenced to one year in the Kosciusko County Jail for a Level 6 felony conviction of attempted dealing in a controlled substance. Hepler was originally charged with a Level 5 felony for trafficking with an inmate, but a plea agreement changed the terms. Her year sentence was suspended to formal probation. She was also ordered to continue seeking treatment in the Indiana Professionals Recovery Program (IPRP).
On June 23, 2019, Hepler was arrested after she put a cell phone and Vyvanse pills in the trash can in the women’s public bathroom at KCJ. The contraband was found by a jail officer who was emptying the trash. Hepler’s intentions were for an inmate trustee to empty the trash that day and receive the goods.
Investigators used recorded phone calls to determine Hepler was the person who put the items there, and she was arrested while at the jail participating in a video visitation with an inmate.
In court Monday, Hepler’s attorney, Jack Birch, told Reed that his client is a smart person and a registered nurse. That nursing license is currently suspended, Birch said, but that his client is working through the IPRP to fix the situation.
“I’ve definitely learned my lesson for my mistakes,” Hepler told Reed. “I got tangled up in the wrong crowds. ... It’s been quite an eye-opener. I just want to get back to providing for my kids.”
Reed told Hepler that he believes she can get the help she needs through the program and hopes she does so.
“Sometimes, overcoming things shows our true character,” he said.
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092