Olivia Marie Ketcham, 21, of Plymouth, was sentenced on June 24 in Marshall Superior Court No. 1 to eight years imprisonment at the Indiana Department of Correction for conspiracy to deal in methamphetamine, a Class B Felony. Judge Robert O. Bowen approved an agreement reached between Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tami Napier and defense attorney Jeffery Houin, from Plymouth. The agreement allows four years of the sentence to be served on home detention if Ketcham is approved by Marshall County Court Services.
In open court, Ketcham admitted that on June 25, 2014, she assisted Anthony Porter Jr., in his delivery of methamphetamine to a confidential informant. The parties had agreed to meet in the parking lot of a Plymouth hospital, and Ketcham drove Porter to that location. In exchange for a guilty plea, the additional count of dealing methamphetamine was dismissed.
The case began on June 25, 2014, when Ketcham and Porter traveled to the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center parking lot to sell methamphetamine to an undercover officer. Ketcham drove Porter in a white mustang to the parking lot, and assisted Porter in selling a half gram of methamphetamine to the undercover officer. During the purchase, Porter explained that he had more “product” to distribute throughout the weekend. Subsequent investigation revealed that Ketcham had purchased pseudoephedrine seven times from May 6, 2014 to July 21, 2014. Pseudoephedrine is a necessary ingredient when manufacturing methamphetamine.
Ketcham currently has two pending cases in Marshall County for theft and harboring a non-immunized dog. Porter was on parole at the time of the sale. He previously admitted his guilt of dealing in methamphetamine and was sentenced on April 2, 2014 to twelve years in prison.
Prosecuting Attorney Nelson Chipman commented, “this is a fair resolution considering Ms. Ketcham’s level of involvement. Although she was not as deeply involved as Porter, she nonetheless must bear significant responsibility by her purchasing pseudoephedrine on numerous occasions and driving Porter to his sales appointments. At the same time her relatively clean background and genuine remorse justify the opportunity for home detention after some period of incarceration. Rehabilitation is our objective; it is sincerely hoped Ms. Ketcham takes every opportunity to achieve that end.”
