On Wednesday, January 17th 44-year-old Geraldine Whitfield, of Rochester, appeared in Marshall Superior Court No. 1 where she was sentenced by agreement to 9 years imprisonment for Possession of Methamphetamine as a Level 3 Felony.
According to information released by the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office, 7 of those years call for incarceration at the Indiana Department of Corrections followed by 2 years of reporting probation.
In open court, it was reportedly disclosed that on February 5, 2017 Deputy Brandon Cooper of the Marshall County Sheriff’s Department was on routine patrol when he spotted erratic driving behavior in a maroon minivan in the area of southbound US 31 and 14th Road.
The report indicates that Whitfield was the passenger of the minivan and the owner of the vehicle. The driver was allegedly unlicensed but indicated he was driving due to Whitfield’s intoxication. According to the report, 31 grams of methamphetamine was located on Whitfield. The minivan was towed from the scene after Whitfield and the unnamed driver’s arrest.
The press release states that the agreed-upon sentence was entered in exchange for Whitfield pleading guilty to one count of Possession of Methamphetamine while the State agreed to dismiss a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.
Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman said he was pleased with the outstanding work of Deputy Brandon Cooper and stated that methamphetamine abuse accounts for a significant amount of drug abuse, overdoses and property crimes so it is critically important to uncover and prosecute these cases.
He said prosecuting these types of cases remains a priority of the Marshall County Prosecutor’s Office and they will continue working to make it clear to dealers and users that it will not be tolerated in our community.
