MONROE - A Monroe man with a history of heroin addiction and abusing prescription pills was sentenced to prison Wednesday, March 21, in Green County Circuit Court on felony charges of escaping jail and forging a check.
Samuel R. Schutte, 27, is sentenced to 18 months in prison, two years of extended supervision and three years of probation. He pleaded guilty in January to the charges.
"My client wants to go to prison," said Michael Schmidt, defense counsel. He added that Schutte's parents, ex-wife and family have also recommended prison time to help him get clean.
The state's pre-sentence investigation into Schutte reveals a man with a "seeming inability to stop victimizing himself and the people around him," according to District Attorney Gary Luhman.
The 2002 Monroe High graduate was prescribed the narcotic Fentanyl after he injured his back a few years ago. He started abusing this and other prescription pills and then injecting himself with heroin. His life spiraled into crime in his desperation to feed an opiate habit that cost $20 to $100 daily.
Even an ex-girlfriend's suicide by overdose didn't shake Schutte's addiction, Luhman said.
Court records indicate Schutte forged one of his parents' checks at Woodford State Bank in July, then escaped in August from the Green County Jail, where he was serving time for unpaid child support. Law enforcement arrested him one month later in Alabama.
Judge James Beer recommended Schutte participate in an Earned Release Program, a drug-counseling incentive in prison, or if possible, complete the Challenge Incarceration Program, a bootcamp that drills prisoners with strenuous physical activity, manual work assignments, discipline and behavior training and drug counseling.
Schutte advocated for this route, when given a chance to say something before the judge read his sentence.
"I think the Earned Release Program is the best way to discipline me," he said.
- Katjusa Cisar
Samuel R. Schutte, 27, is sentenced to 18 months in prison, two years of extended supervision and three years of probation. He pleaded guilty in January to the charges.
"My client wants to go to prison," said Michael Schmidt, defense counsel. He added that Schutte's parents, ex-wife and family have also recommended prison time to help him get clean.
The state's pre-sentence investigation into Schutte reveals a man with a "seeming inability to stop victimizing himself and the people around him," according to District Attorney Gary Luhman.
The 2002 Monroe High graduate was prescribed the narcotic Fentanyl after he injured his back a few years ago. He started abusing this and other prescription pills and then injecting himself with heroin. His life spiraled into crime in his desperation to feed an opiate habit that cost $20 to $100 daily.
Even an ex-girlfriend's suicide by overdose didn't shake Schutte's addiction, Luhman said.
Court records indicate Schutte forged one of his parents' checks at Woodford State Bank in July, then escaped in August from the Green County Jail, where he was serving time for unpaid child support. Law enforcement arrested him one month later in Alabama.
Judge James Beer recommended Schutte participate in an Earned Release Program, a drug-counseling incentive in prison, or if possible, complete the Challenge Incarceration Program, a bootcamp that drills prisoners with strenuous physical activity, manual work assignments, discipline and behavior training and drug counseling.
Schutte advocated for this route, when given a chance to say something before the judge read his sentence.
"I think the Earned Release Program is the best way to discipline me," he said.
- Katjusa Cisar