Man arrested in large drug bust gets probation

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Bourbon County District Chief Judge Amy Harth handed a probation sentence down Monday to a Fort Scott man facing felony drug charges.

Jesse Woods, 25, appeared before Harth during a sentencing hearing in Bourbon County District Court. In January, Woods pleaded guilty to five counts in two separate cases involving felony drug charges in 2015. According to court records, Woods faced charges for "use of a communication facility; attempted commission of felony drug violation, as well as drug possession and other related charges.

As part of a plea agreement, Woods pleaded guilty to count one of unlawful possession of an opiates, opium, narcotic drug or any stimulant. He also pleaded guilty to the first four counts of a charge related to use of a communication facility to facilitate a drug transaction. The remaining charges in both cases were dismissed in January.

On Monday, Harth sentenced Woods to 18 months of supervised probation, with an underlying sentence of 40 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections on charges for both cases should Woods fail to meet the terms and conditions of his probation.

Bourbon County Attorney Justin Meeks, representing the prosecution, said after the hearing Woods' probation will be "intensive supervised probation by court services."

Meeks said if Woods goes back to jail to serve the sentence, he will have post-release supervision for 12 months and will get credit for time already served.

During the hearing, Harth asked Meeks and Woods' attorney, Jason Wiske of Pittsburg, if they had reviewed the pre-sentence investigation report on Woods for both cases prior to sentencing. Both attorneys said they had no objections or corrections to be made. A PSI involves looking at the defendant's criminal history prior to sentencing.