Warsaw Man Avoids Prison After Meth Bust
By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews
WARSAW — A Warsaw man will serve a six-year sentence through work release and probation after officers searched a home and found drugs while children were present.
Keith J. Vuittonet, 34, 960 W. Tippecanoe St., Warsaw, was charged with dealing in methamphetamine, a level 4 felony; and neglect of a dependent, a level 5 felony. Methamphetamine possession and maintaining a common nuisance charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Vuittonet was sentenced in Kosciusko Circuit Court on Thursday, Feb. 18.
In March 2019, the NET43 Drug Task Force obtained a search warrant for a residence on Wooster Road in Winona Lake. The search warrant was a result of information regarding the usage and distribution of marijuana and methamphetamine at the home. Four adults, including Vuittonet, and two young children were present in the home when the warrant was served.
While searching the residence, officers found more than 10 grams of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. It was discovered that the adults were attempting to dispose of the methamphetamine in the toilet.
One of the adults in the home, Cara G. Vuittonet, was sentenced in January 2020 to five years in the Indiana Department of Corrections for this case.
For dealing in methamphetamine, Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed sentenced Vuittonet to six years in prison. He was also sentenced to three years for neglect of a dependent. Both counts will be served concurrently, or at the same time.
Instead of serving the sentence through DoC, the first three years of Vuittonet’s sentence will be served through the county’s work-release program, with the last three years served through probation.
Vuittonet also has 90 days of jail time credit in this case.
“This is a good thing for you,” said Judge Reed. “Stay clean and see what you can do.”