The courtroom was quiet when Kosciusko County Circuit Court Judge Rex Reed read Michelle Stimmel’s sentence.
Stimmel, 32, was sentenced to 1-1/2 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections for possession of methamphetamine, a Class D felony. As a part of her plea deal with the state of Indiana, count one, dealing in methamphetamine in an amount less than three grams, a Class B felony, was dismissed.
Reed found sympathy in the fact that Stimmel was pregnant and has tried multiple drug rehab programs, but did not think that Stimmel had learned her lesson.
“It would appear to me that you have not learned your lesson before, it would also appear to me that you would not learn your lesson in the future if I let you go on probation,” Reed said. “We can’t have this continual drug involvement. I have sympathy that you have a child on the way, but I don't think there are any exceptions to the law for women not to be held accountable.”
Stimmel’s lawyer, Scott Lennox, previously had asked Reed for probation for a period of three years.
“I think probation would help her prove to her family and her children and society that she can get clean and become what she wants to become,” Lennox said. “She has learned her lesson. She spent 96 days in jail. She made a very bad decision and she has paid the price for that and I think she deserves a chance. She has cleaned herself up.”
Reed did not agree.
“She has completed the Kosciusko County drug and alcohol program, but she has participated in drug rehabs that she has not completed,” Reed said. “Ten days prior to this arrest you completed a drug rehab in South Bend. Then 10 days after the arrest you got back with your boyfriend and started using again.”
In addition to the 1-1/2 years in prison, Stimmel was ordered to pay a $200 drug interdiction fee, a $100 fine and court costs. She was credited with 96 days of jail time.
