COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – A Coldwater man with a criminal history who entered guilty pleas to a pair of drug charges just moments before a September trial was scheduled to start was sentenced to the Michigan Department of Corrections Monday in Branch County Circuit Court.
58-year-old Lawrence Michael Hale admitted his guilt to possession of methamphetamine and possession of a narcotic as a fourth time offender.
He was given concurrent sentences of 36 months to 10 years on the meth charge and three to 15 years on the other drug count.
Hale was given credit for 271 days already served in the Branch County Jail.
Five other charges were dismissed by prosecutors in exchange for the guilty pleas.
Hale was one of two suspects taken into custody January 31, 2017 when a search warrant was executed by Coldwater Police in the 200 block of West Chicago as part of an investigation into alleged illegal drug activity.
Hale rejected a previous plea bargain agreement with prosecutors.
