Defendants Sentenced in Starke Circuit Court

  Starke Circuit Court Judge Kim Hall sentenced defendants in court Thursday after conducting several hearings.

Joshua Hansen, of Hamlet, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to charges of dealing in methamphetamine as a Class B felony and maintaining a common nuisance as a Class D felony. Judge Kim Hall accepted the plea agreement and Hansen was sentenced per the terms of that agreement. Hansen will serve eight years in the department of corrections with two years of the sentence suspended on the charge of dealing in methamphetamine and 18 months with no part of the sentence suspended on the charge of maintaining a common nuisance. He will serve two years on probation. If he successfully completes the CLIFF or GRIP program or other purposeful incarceration, he may petition the court for a modification of his sentence.

John Filip, of Walkerton, pleaded guilty in a plea agreement with the state to two counts of neglect of a dependent as a Class D felony. He also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of possession of a firearm without a permit. He received a sentence of 12 months on each count with 10 months suspended. His remaining sentence will be served on daily reporting home detention. Filip will be evaluated and will need to participate in recommended programs. If he successfully completes those recommended programs, he may petition the court for misdemeanor treatment.

Jason Johnson of Knox pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of precursors to which he was sentenced to 18 months in the Department of Corrections with 12 months suspended. The remainder of the sentence will be served on home detention through Starke County Community Corrections. He will serve 12 months on probation.

Johnson was also sentenced to one year each on two charges of failure to appear. Those will be served concurrently and can be served on home detention. The two sentences will run consecutive to one another.