BEDFORD – On Thursday, February 15, a Bedford man was sentenced to the Indiana Department of Correction by Lawrence Superior Court II Judge Robert Cline after failing to comply with his probation terms.
On June 27, 2017, Matthew T. Johnson, 33, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a Level 5 Felony, as a part of a negotiated plea agreement. The plea agreement offered Johnson six years in prison, with one year served on house arrest instead of incarceration. He was placed on two years of supervised probation.
However, on March 28, 2022, while on probation, Johnson was charged with possession of meth, a Level 6 felony. In an open plea agreement, he pleaded guilty to that crime with a habitual offender enhancement on July 5, 2022.
His sentencing was taken under advisement pending completion of the Superior II Problem Solving Court.
Johnson repeatedly violated the terms of his probation and Problem Solving Court.
On October 5, 2023, he was charged with resisting law enforcement in Monroe County. On January 1, 2024, while incarcerated in the Lawrence County Jail, Johnson violated the facility’s rules by having a Bible shipped to him containing three packs of suboxone hidden inside.
On February 15, 2024, Johnson admitted to violating the terms of his probation, was sentenced in his open plea case, and was terminated from Problem Solving Court.
Judge Cline revoked Johnson’s suspended sentence in the 2017 case, sentencing him to 600 days in the IDOC, and terminated Johnson’s probation as unsuccessful. In the 2022 open plea case, Judge Cline sentenced Johnson to 900 days in prison plus 2190 days for the habitual offender enhancement. All of the sentences are to run consecutively.
“Crime is taken seriously in Lawrence County,” said Prosecutor Sam Arp. “Judge Cline does not hesitate to use a firm hand when an offender chooses not to take advantage of the opportunities given to him in probation and Problem Solving Court. If an offender continues to violate the law, he will face the consequences of his actions.”
