A Michigan prisoner now faces up to life behind bars for his drug-related crimes after accepting a plea agreement from the Osceola County Prosecutor’s Office.
Getty ImagesREED CITY — A Michigan prisoner now faces up to life behind bars for his drug-related crimes after accepting a plea agreement from the Osceola County Prosecutor’s Office.
Jason Derek Mitchell, 37, appeared, via Zoom, before Osceola County Circuit Judge Kimberly Booher on Friday, Dec. 10 for a settlement conference hearing. Mitchell is currently lodged in the state’s prison system for a methamphetamine conviction from a 2020 Ottawa County case.
In two case files in Osceola County, Mitchell was charged with 12 counts in total — most drug-related.
During the Dec. 10 hearing, Osceola County Prosecutor Anthony Badovinac reviewed terms of the plea deal. Per the agreement, Mitchell would plead guilty to one count of delivery/manufacturing of methamphetamine as well as being a fourth-time habitual offender, which makes the punishment for the crime a possible life offense.
In exchange, the prosecutor’s office would dismiss all remaining charges and any pending cases against Mitchell.
Through questioning with his defense attorney, John R. Beason, Mitchell accepted the plea and admitted his guilt.
A search warrant was executed on Mitchell’s Lincoln Township residence on Oct. 1, 2020 and authorities found roughly 41 grams of methamphetamine. Mitchell admitted he was planning on distributing the drugs to someone else.
The judge accepted the plea and set sentencing for Jan. 21, 2022.
Mitchell previously pleaded guilty to meth-related charges in Osceola County in 2004, 2006, and 2009, according to the Michigan Department of Corrections.
His earliest release date from prison is set for August 2032.
