Woman Receives Three-Year Local Sentence For Drug Possession
By Liz Adkins
InkFreeNews
Tanya Marie Stephens
WARSAW — A woman will serve a three-year sentence locally after a police patrol resulted in the discovery of drug use at a Warsaw residence.
Tanya Marie Stephens, 39, Kouts, was charged with possession of methamphetamine, a level 5 felony; and counterfeiting, a level 6 felony. Six additional criminal charges were all dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Stephens was sentenced in Kosciusko Circuit Court on Monday, July 8.
For meth possession, Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed sentenced Stephens to three years in the Kosciusko County Jail. Stephens also received a one-year KCJ sentence for counterfeiting. Both charges will be served at the same time, and served back-to-back to three additional criminal cases Stephens has.
Stephens has 323 days of jail time credit, plus good time credit as calculated. Reed said he had no objection to Stephens serving her sentence through the county’s work release or community corrections programs. If she participates in community corrections, Stephens must reside at Fellowship Missions and complete treatment there.
At sentencing, Defense Attorney Austin Rovenstine said Stephens had been accepted to community corrections.
On Sept. 10, 2020, a Warsaw Police officer was participating in specialized patrol for increased criminal activity in the area of South Union Street.
According to court documents, officers obtained a search warrant for a residence on South Union Street that Stephens lived in. Officers found drug paraphernalia and 0.7 grams of meth in the home’s living room. They also found $720 in counterfeit $20 bills in a vehicle outside of the residence.
Stephens was previously convicted of dealing in a controlled substance in December 2011.
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