Staff Reporter

WARSAW — A Warsaw man was sentenced to six and a half years in prison on charges from two cases in Kosciusko Circuit Court Monday, Sept. 26. 

Kyle J. Gilson

Kyle James Gilson, 31, 1018 Pike Shore Drive, Warsaw, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a level 4 felony, in one case. 

In a second case, Gilson pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a level 6 felony. 

Gilson was arrested in December 2021, after being found in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia during a traffic stop.

Gilson has a prior felony conviction from 2018 in Elkhart County for resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony; from 2018 in Elkhart County for auto theft, a Level 6 felony; and from 2017 in Elkhart County for possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony.

“I know I have a problem and I need help,” Gilson said in court Monday. 

For the level 4 felony charge, Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed sentenced Gilson to six years in prison at the Indiana Department of Corrections.

Gilson was sentenced to 180 days in prison for the level 6 felony charge. 

The sentences will be served consecutively, meaning one after the other. 

“We can’t change what we’ve done yesterday, but we can certainly make a difference in today and tomorrow,” Reed told Gilson. 

Reed recommended purposeful incarceration. 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).

Reed encouraged Gilson to complete the RWI program and to remain drug-free and conduct-clear while at IDOC. 

“Get down there and do the things we talked about here and show me that you earned it and I’ll consider a sentence modification,” Reed said.