Tessa Lynn Mullins, 39, of Plymouth, was sentenced on June 24 in Marshall Superior Court No. 1 to 10 years imprisonment at the Indiana Department of Correction for dealing methamphetamine as a Class B Felony. Judge Robert O. Bowen approved an agreement reached between Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tami Napier and defense attorney Stephen Kray, from LaPorte. The agreement also allows Mullins may petition to modify her sentence to include purposeful incarceration upon completing a third of her sentence and to have no conduct violations.
In open court, Mullins admitted that on occasions prior to April 10, 2014, she delivered methamphetamine in Plymouth, Indiana. In exchange for a guilty plea to the most serious charge, the remaining counts would be dismissed. Those charges included possession of methamphetamine, possession of chemical reagents with intent to manufacture a controlled substance, maintaining a common nuisance, possession of marijuana, and false informing. Mullins was on probation for a previous theft conviction during the time of the incident.
The case began on April 10, 2014, when Indiana State Police Trooper Jason Faulstich assisted Marshall County Probation Officer James Bendy with a home visit to the residence of Tessa Mullins located in the 1600 block of North Michigan St. in Plymouth. After being first refused entry, Trooper Faulstich and Probation Officer Bendy convinced Mullins to allow the two law enforcement officers entry into the home. Upon entry, Trooper Faulstich noticed a small torch commonly used to smoke methamphetamine. Also observed was a cut off straw with white powder, which a subsequent laboratory analysis found to be methamphetamine. The officers then conducted a search of the residence and found additional drugs and drug related paraphernalia. During a later interview, Mullins admitted to law enforcement that she had been selling methamphetamine to make extra money.
Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman commented, “We are not ready to give up on Ms. Mullins. Although it is very frustrating for law enforcement, including our Probation Department that Ms. Mullins was on probation at the time of this offense; indeed, checking up on her as part of her probation was the reason Trooper Faulstich and Probation Officer Bendy were there in the first place. It is our position that the sentence is fair and that there is a carrot dangling there for her to behave in prison and get the rehabilitation treatment she needs to break this horrible meth addiction.”
