GREENFIELD — Lois Simmermeyer sat at the defense table and told the judge she wanted nothing more than to be rid of the drug addiction and associated issues that have plagued her for years.
But Simmermeyer, in a plea to avoid prison time for drug crimes, had not completed any type of drug program while she was awaiting sentencing.
So, instead of getting a chance to stay out of prison, Simmermeyer, 58, Indianapolis, was instead sent to prison for several years.
She was given two nine-year prison terms, with three years to be executed six years suspended on both counts.
The sentence was handed down last week as part of a plea deal recommended by the prosecutor’s office and accepted in Hancock County Circuit Court by Judge Scott Sirk.
Simmermeyer was found guilty of a Level 3 felony charge of dealing methamphetamine; and a Level 5 felony for dealing a narcotic drug. The two sentences will run at the same time, Sirk said.
If she’s able to complete a recovery regimen in prison, Simmermeyer would have a chance to have her sentence modified and perhaps get into an intensive probation program such as the Hancock County heroin protocol, Sirk noted.
Simmermeyer told Sirk that if he was intent on sending her to prison, she wanted to be part of any drug programs that are available.
Before the sentencing, Simmermeyer told the court she was ashamed and apologized for what she called her “big mistake.” She also told the court her children are addicts who are struggling, too.
Simmermeyer expressed remorse about failing to enter treatment while she awaited sentencing.
“I should have tried harder,” she said.
Simmermeyer was arrested and originally charged with four felony drug crimes in the spring of 2018 after a year-long undercover police investigation.
Officers from the Greenfield Police Department conducted two separate drug purchases with Simmermeyer — including a quantity of methamphetamine — in Hancock County between April 1, 2018, and April 1, 2019, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Simmermeyer was also facing two other drug-related charges — a Level 5 felony for possession of meth and a Level 6 felony for a possession of a narcotic drug — which were dropped as part of the plea deal.
