Staff Report

WARSAW — A South Bend man was sentenced to eight years in prison Monday, Sept. 26, in Kosciusko County Circuit Court.

Richard Larrison

Richard G. Larrison, 48, 1406 E. Fox St., South Bend, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a level 4 felony. 

In 2021, Larrison was arrested on drug charges after being caught with about 28 grams of methamphetamine in his vehicle during a traffic stop.

He was also convicted of methamphetamine possession in 2003 and controlled substance possession in 2009.

Larrison’s attorney, Austin Rovenstine, called three people to the stand to speak on Larrison’s behalf in court Monday.

Skyler Davidson, house manager at the Serenity House in Auburn, where Larrison is currently residing, spoke first.

Davidson told the court that Larrison has chosen to remain at Serenity House longer than required in order to continue  working on his recovery.

“He’s done phenomenal. He’s done a complete 180 since coming to the house,” Davidson said. “He’s a good leader. He’s come a really long way.”

Serenity House, a transitional living home with a structured environment and programs, is designed to promote a spiritual transformation that will enable residents to lead a life free from alcohol or drug use.

Kenny Schoff, who currently serves as a house manager at the Serenity House in Warsaw, said he has known Larrison for approximately 20 years.

“He is on fire for recovery. He has gone above and beyond,” Schoff said. “He has made big changes. I believe he is going to continue down this path if given the chance.”

Larrison’s sister told the court that her brother had gone to a rehab facility in 2019 but was not successful at that time “because he was doing it for someone else.” 

“This time he’s doing it for himself,” she said. “This is him doing this for him.”

Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brad Voelz told Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed that he respects the recovery process and does not want to derail the good work Larrison has put in, but pointed out that recovery is a lifelong process and that “part of recovery is accepting responsibility, which includes accepting consequences.”

“I look at (Larrison’s) criminal history and I see violence … I see dishonesty … I see narcotics … and I see failed probation,” Voelz said. “We predicted that good people would come in and tell you good things about how he’s doing in recovery, but that does not erase the seriousness of his crimes.”

Larrison spoke in court Monday just before being sentenced.

“I have a very chaotic past,” Larrison admitted. “I was a mess. I was a mess when I was using.”

Larrison told Judge Reed about the steps he is taking to turn his life around. This includes attending eight to 10 meetings each week. Larrison is involved in multiple groups, including AA, NA, and Celebrate Recovery.

“It doesn’t erase the actions I’ve done … not at all,” Larrison said. “but it keeps me from doing that ever again.”

“The prosecutor is right,” Larrison added. “Recovery is a lifelong process. I was an addict in active addiction. Now I’m an addict in recovery.” 

“I trust your change is genuine,” Reed told Larrison, “But you have to be held accountable for your actions.” 

Reed said he could not look past the fact that Larrison was in possession of 28 grams of meth.

“This is not a pleasant task,” Reed said, “But I think we all know what I have to do.”

Larrison was sentenced to eight years at the Indiana Department of Corrections, with Reed recommending purposeful incarceration, a program designed to target inmates whose criminal behavior is tied to a substance abuse and addiction.

Under the purposeful incarceration initiative, an offender may be eligible for sentence modification upon completion of a state-provided addiction treatment program, Recovery While Incarcerated (RWI).  

Two other cases were dismissed, pursuant to the terms of the plea agreement.