Woman Receives Six-Year Prison Sentence For Drug Dealing
By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews
WARSAW — A Mishawaka woman will serve six years in prison after a police patrol discovery of drug dealing and usage at a Warsaw residence.
Taylor Leanne Turcotte, 34, Mishawaka, was charged with dealing methamphetamine, a level 4 felony; false informing, a class B misdemeanor; and failure to appear, a level 6 felony. Three additional criminal charges were all dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Turcotte was sentenced in Kosciusko Circuit Court on Monday, July 18.
On Sept. 10, 2020, a Warsaw Police officer was participating in specialized patrol for increased criminal activity in the 400 block of South Union Street. During his patrol, the officer noticed a vehicle with two women inside it approaching a residence.
According to court documents, the officer turned around and by the time he returned to the vehicle, one of the women had gone into the residence and retrieved a dog, and the other woman was not in view. The officer approached the residence at the same time a woman, later identified as Turcotte, exited the residence. Turcotte told the officer she was not driving the vehicle and identified the other woman in the vehicle by a false name.
Turcotte eventually admitted to driving the vehicle and was taken into custody for false informing. She gave officers permission to search the residence for the other woman.
During a search of the home, the officer found a small chunk of methamphetamine in a bedroom. In Turcotte’s bedroom, officers found two bags containing a schedule I drug, as well as drug paraphernalia.
Court documents state one of the women at the residence said she occasionally used meth, but that Turcotte and another woman “use methamphetamine all day long.” The woman also told officers that Turcotte and the other woman in the vehicle had just returned from South Bend after picking up a half-ounce of methamphetamine.
Officers spoke with Turcotte, who agreed that she had lied to law enforcement during her initial contact with them. Turcotte admitted to using methamphetamine, suboxone and heroin. She also confirmed that one of the women walked into the residence and told Turcotte to provide a false name to officers.
While being booked in the Kosciusko County Jail, Turcotte was found to be in possession of 5.3 grams of methamphetamine. Electronic messages were also discovered between Turcotte and a woman for arranging a drug purchase.
Turcotte has a failure to appear charge after not showing up for her initial hearing in October 2020. She also has a pending criminal casein Elkhart County for dealing methamphetamine in May 2022.
During court proceedings, Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brad Voelz said Turcotte having drugs on her person during the booking process was a “significant aggravating circumstance that deserves an extremely strict sentence.” He also noted the incident happened almost two years ago and said jail staff have made “significant strides” on preventing drugs from entering the jail.
Defense Attorney Nick Jacobs said Turcotte has a substance abuse problem and asked Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed to consider placing Turcotte in the Indiana Department of Correction’s Recovery While Incarcerated program.
For dealing methamphetamine, Judge Reed sentenced Turcotte to five years in DoC. Turcotte also received a six-month sentence at KCJ for false informing and one year at DoC for failure to appear.
The six-month sentence for false informing will be served concurrently, or at the same time, as the dealing methamphetamine sentence. The one-year sentence for failure to appear will be served consecutively to the dealing methamphetamine charge.
In total, Turcotte received a six-year DoC sentence and was recommended for the RWI program. This case will be served consecutively to two additional criminal cases.
“I hope you can get a handle on (your addiction) and get back on track,” said Judge Reed.