By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

Cherish Renee Heckaman

WARSAW — A Warsaw woman will serve a three-year sentence locally after a traffic stop resulted in the discovery of drugs.

Cherish Renee Heckaman, 39, 3069 S. Country Club Road, Warsaw, was charged with possession of methamphetamine, a level 5 felony. Two additional criminal charges were dismissed as part of a plea agreement.

Heckaman was sentenced in Kosciusko Circuit Court on Monday, Jan. 15.

For meth possession, Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed sentenced Heckaman to three years in the Kosciusko County Jail. She has 91 days of jail time credit plus good time credit as calculated. Reed said he had no objection to Heckaman serving the first half of her sentence through the Kosciusko County Work Release program and the second half through either work release or community corrections.

At sentencing, Defense Attorney Scott Reust said Heckaman had been accepted to work release.

“I’m ready to start a new chapter and really start my recovery process,” said Heckaman. “I know where I messed up and where I need to fix things.”

On Oct. 17, 2023, a Warsaw Police officer noticed a vehicle fail to dim its headlights and pulled the driver, later identified as Heckaman, over.

According to court documents, a K9 unit alerted to illegal drugs in the vehicle. Officers found two smoking devices with meth residue. Heckaman was previously convicted of dealing in a controlled substance in Kosciusko County in June 2015.