The addictive drug methamphetamine continues to rear its ugly head across Texas, and Kendall County has not been immune to what the local state district judge calls the “true pandemic” of the nation.
At least four individuals entered plea deals with 451st District Court Judge Kirsten Cohoon earlier this month on charges for possessing meth, including one individual who had his bond revoked because he tested positive for the drug during his hearing.
Cohoon had strong words of advice for one of the first defendants to come before her, 44-year-old Dorothy Limon, of San Antonio. Limon pleaded guilty to possessing less than a gram of meth – a state jail felony with a punishment range of 180 days to two years – and was sentenced to 11 months in state prison. She had already served 307 days, leaving her with just under a month to serve.
“I don’t know, Ms. Limon, about you, but I know we have this whole COVID pandemic that goes around,” Cohoon said. “But I really think the true pandemic that plagues our society is methamphetamine. And I hope when you get out that you find a way to handle that pandemic.”
When Limon told the judge she was clean, Cohoon said, “Good, because it is a devil that keeps coming up.” Cohoon’s warnings continued throughout the pleas that Friday afternoon as she continuously noted the serious ramifications of meth on a person’s life.
Christopher Quinn also faced a state jail felony for possessing less than a gram of meth back in December of 2018. Quinn was sentenced to 562 days in state prison. He also was sentenced to 180 days in prison, which will run concurrently with his felony time, for a Class B misdemeanor charge for possessing marijuana.
“You’ve heard me say it before, I’m sure, but I’m certain the real pandemic is methamphetamine,” Cohoon said to Quinn upon his conviction and sentencing. “And it will be the devil that will chase you for the rest of your life, Mr. Quinn. And you’re going to have to learn how to evade that.”
A 29-year-old San Antonio resident, Mirko Kerkez, found himself back behind bars that afternoon after he tested positive for the drug he was facing a felony charge for possessing: Meth.
When Kerkez approached Cohoon’s bench, the judge asked him, under oath, if he would pass a drug test if one was administered that day. He testified before Cohoon he would pass a drug test, so she called for the probation officer to administer a test.
When Kerkez’s test came back positive for meth, Cohoon asked the defendant to get comfortable, saying she wasn’t sure if the state would abide by the plea deal the two parties were about to enter or if she would approve it if they moved forward.
“IF they do, then I’m going to consider whether or not I want to accept it,” Cohoon said. “Because you just lied to me, and I won’t accept that you didn’t know.”
The state opted not to move forward with a plea deal. Kerkez’s bond was revoked, and he was taken into custody.
“See, here’s the deal, Mr. Kerkez,” Cohoon said. “Sometimes when you raise your right hand you swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth, and I ask you something as uncomfortable as the true answer may be, you need to give the true answer. … “Now, because you weren’t truthful with the court, after the court swore you in, the state is deciding to withdrawal its plea agreement. I’m not saying I would’ve accepted it, but there’s nothing to accept anymore.”
As the bailiffs took Kerkez into custody, Cohoon left him with a final warning and said, “So, the next time I see you, when I ask you a question, I want you to be truthful.”
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