Vannessa Ann Knight, 32, Greenwood, had her case settled Thursday, June 30 in Hancock County Superior Court 1 from an incident in June 2021. A plea deal was accepted. After facing a Level 3 felony drug charge she will spend no time in prison.
HANCOCK COUNTY — A Greenwood woman facing up to 16 years in prison for felony drug and neglect charges will not serve any time following a sentencing hearing this week.
Vannessa Ann Knight, 32, had her case settled Thursday, June 30 in Hancock County Superior Court 1 when a plea deal was accepted and she was officially sentenced. The deal called for Knight to admit guilt to a Level 3 felony count of possession of a narcotic drug and a Level 6 felony count of a neglect.
She was given a six-year term for the Level 3 felony with all six years of the sentence suspended to formal probation. Knight received a two-year term for the Level 6 felony with both years also suspended to formal probation.
Level 3 felonies can range from a three- to a 16-year sentence with nine being the advisory sentence. According to the agreement, a Class C misdemeanor and a driving infraction charge were dropped as part of the deal.
The deal also calls for Knight to obtain a substance of abuse evaluation and complete terms as recommended. Knight and officials from the state signed the agreement in late May and had it accepted by the court a few weeks later.
According to a probable cause affidavit, officials from the McCordsville Police Department pulled over a vehicle in June, 2021 after observing erratic driving in the 5700 block of West Broadway.
Knight, a passenger in the vehicle, had her daughter in the back seat, the report said. The driver of the car, Joshua Corbett, 36, 4000 block of U.S. 36, Middletown was identified as Knight’s husband and showed he had a prior case of dealing a controlled substance.
Officials conducted a K-9 sniff of the vehicle, the affidavit said. Officers found two clear plastic bags containing a gray powdery substance which Knight was trying to destroy while seated inside the car, the report said.
Knight eventually told officials she and Corbett had just purchased illegal drugs, the report stated. Corbett admitted to taking heroin earlier in the day, officials said in the report. A field test of the gray powdery substance, which officials also found on a lottery ticket, tested positive for heroin, officials said in the report.
Knight was arrested at the time for possession of a narcotic between 10-28 grams and possession of paraphernalia as well as neglect of a dependent.
Corbett, who is facing seven charges in all, including a Level 3 felony count of possession of a narcotic drug is set to have his case settled later this summer in Hancock County Superior Court 1 during a sentencing hearing set for early August.
