Wiederhold
An Indianapolis man will serve 24 years in prison for dealing methamphetamine in Johnson County.
Michael Wiederhold, 29, was sentenced to 24 years on a charge of dealing methamphetamine, a Level 2 felony, by Johnson County Superior Court 2 Judge Peter Nugent Thursday. A Level 2 felony carries a sentence of 10 to 30 years, according to a Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office news release.
Wiederhold was previously convicted of the charge by a jury on April 25. The jury deliberated for 10 minutes before reaching the guilty verdict, prosecutors said in April.
The charge stemmed from a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office narcotics investigation in March 2022 where an undercover detective witnessed Wiederhold deliver methamphetamine to another person. He was later arrested during a drug roundup in August 2022.
Deputy Prosecutor Megan Smither argued for an aggravated sentence — a sentence in excess of the advisory sentence of 17.5 years –due to Wiederhold’s criminal history and lack of remorse, the news release says. This ultimately led to the 24-year prison sentence.
“When a drug dealer continues to commit crimes and shows no remorse, a more lengthy sentence is appropriate. This is what we asked for and received,” Smither said.
Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner was proud of the work done by both the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and prosecutors in making an arrest and putting the case together for trial, he said.
He’s also glad another criminal has been taken off the streets, he said.
“I’m most pleased that we have gotten yet another Marion County criminal off of our Johnson County streets and put him into an Indiana prison,” Hamner said. “I hope the Marion County drug dealers are receiving the message we’re sending: we won’t tolerate you selling your poison here.”
