Atwood Woman Gets Work Release For Dealing Meth
January 29, 2021 at 2:21 a.m.
Atwood Woman Gets Work Release For Dealing Meth
By Amanda Bridgman-
On Dec. 5, 2018, Warsaw Police Department’s drug task force conducted a controlled purchase of 198.3 grams of methamphetamine from Morgan Rachael Wood in exchange for $3,000.
Wood, 36, of 322 E. High St., Atwood, was then arrested and booked in the Kosciusko County Jail, where she’s remained until her Thursday sentencing in Kosciusko Circuit Court.
Through a plea agreement with prosecutors, Wood pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of dealing methamphetamine as a Level 3 felony.
Kosciusko County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Buehler told Judge Mike Reed that the sheer amount of drugs this case is concerning.
“We’re talking about a significant amount of drugs that were brought into this community by Ms. Wood,” Buehler said, adding that in February Wood was given some “grace” when she was allowed to leave KCJ and be placed in the Serenity House’s sober living program.
“That grace lasted about two months,” Buehler said, because Wood was removed from the program after an incident where “there was a large amount of alcohol involved. So long as she’s in a secure environment, she thrives ... but there appears to be a pattern when Ms. Wood is released from custody, it doesn’t take long to revert back to those ways.”
In Wood’s pre-sentence investigation report, along with other court filings in the case, several alternative sentencing programs provided letters of acceptance and support. One of those letters from county Jail Chemical Addiction Program Coordinator Courtney Jenkins and the jail commander said Wood successfully completed JCAP twice and became a role model for the other women.
The Serenity House agreed to take Wood back into its program, Kosciusko County Community Corrections agreed to admit her to their supervision and the county’s work release center also said they’d accept her.
Wood’s attorney, Sarah Ober, said her client has made significant progress during her 731 days incarcerated and that Wood has finally accepted that sobriety will be a lifelong battle.
Ober said sending Wood to prison would cut her off from her support system and asked for a work release sentence.
When Wood was given a chance to speak, she apologized for her actions and said she’s rebuilt her relationship with Christ, her children and her parents.
“I’ve learned a lot in my time being here,” she said.
“I told you a long time ago you needed to go to prison,” Reed said. “But, I’ve changed my mind ... and there’s probably nothing to be gained by sending you to the department of corrections. People do change. I hope your change in true.”
Reed said he listens to people he trusts and respects when they tell him something and said people in JCAP, at the Serenity House, work release, community corrections and the jail “all unanimously tell me that you’ve undergone real change and don’t need to go to prison. ... You’ve earned the opportunity to continue to help others.”
Reed sentenced Wood to nine years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with five years suspended to be served at work release and the following four years to be served through the community corrections program. Wood also was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to NET 43 and the gun that was confiscated during her arrest will be forfeited to WPD.
“Good luck,” Reed told Wood as she was escorted out of the courtroom.
On Dec. 5, 2018, Warsaw Police Department’s drug task force conducted a controlled purchase of 198.3 grams of methamphetamine from Morgan Rachael Wood in exchange for $3,000.
Wood, 36, of 322 E. High St., Atwood, was then arrested and booked in the Kosciusko County Jail, where she’s remained until her Thursday sentencing in Kosciusko Circuit Court.
Through a plea agreement with prosecutors, Wood pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of dealing methamphetamine as a Level 3 felony.
Kosciusko County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Buehler told Judge Mike Reed that the sheer amount of drugs this case is concerning.
“We’re talking about a significant amount of drugs that were brought into this community by Ms. Wood,” Buehler said, adding that in February Wood was given some “grace” when she was allowed to leave KCJ and be placed in the Serenity House’s sober living program.
“That grace lasted about two months,” Buehler said, because Wood was removed from the program after an incident where “there was a large amount of alcohol involved. So long as she’s in a secure environment, she thrives ... but there appears to be a pattern when Ms. Wood is released from custody, it doesn’t take long to revert back to those ways.”
In Wood’s pre-sentence investigation report, along with other court filings in the case, several alternative sentencing programs provided letters of acceptance and support. One of those letters from county Jail Chemical Addiction Program Coordinator Courtney Jenkins and the jail commander said Wood successfully completed JCAP twice and became a role model for the other women.
The Serenity House agreed to take Wood back into its program, Kosciusko County Community Corrections agreed to admit her to their supervision and the county’s work release center also said they’d accept her.
Wood’s attorney, Sarah Ober, said her client has made significant progress during her 731 days incarcerated and that Wood has finally accepted that sobriety will be a lifelong battle.
Ober said sending Wood to prison would cut her off from her support system and asked for a work release sentence.
When Wood was given a chance to speak, she apologized for her actions and said she’s rebuilt her relationship with Christ, her children and her parents.
“I’ve learned a lot in my time being here,” she said.
“I told you a long time ago you needed to go to prison,” Reed said. “But, I’ve changed my mind ... and there’s probably nothing to be gained by sending you to the department of corrections. People do change. I hope your change in true.”
Reed said he listens to people he trusts and respects when they tell him something and said people in JCAP, at the Serenity House, work release, community corrections and the jail “all unanimously tell me that you’ve undergone real change and don’t need to go to prison. ... You’ve earned the opportunity to continue to help others.”
Reed sentenced Wood to nine years in the Indiana Department of Corrections with five years suspended to be served at work release and the following four years to be served through the community corrections program. Wood also was ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to NET 43 and the gun that was confiscated during her arrest will be forfeited to WPD.
“Good luck,” Reed told Wood as she was escorted out of the courtroom.
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