Before giving Anita Marie Goracke a 74-month prison sentence today for felony possession of meth, Judge Terrence Conkel asked her, “Where did everything go wrong?”
She answered, “The first day I used meth.”
Goracke, a former Hutchinson day-care provider, said she had used meth for three years. During that time, she lost almost everything a person can lose, according to her attorney, Peter Kasal.
“She was basically a model citizen,” he said, “before she got into the world of meth addiction.”
Goracke, 33, became addicted to meth after the first time she tried it, according to the findings of a pre-sentence investigation ordered by Conkel in December. Conkel ordered the investigation after Goracke was arrested for the second time in three months on meth-related charges.
Her first arrest in September cost her job as day-care provider, after authorities searched her home and found waste products from using meth. She was arrested again in December after police stopped her car and found nearly a pound of meth in her possession.
According to Junge, that’s enough meth for 1,824 doses, so police concluded it wasn’t just for her own personal use. Goracke had turned to selling the drug to feed her habit.
It seems many people, including prosecuting attorney Junge, want to see her get a second chance. Goracke’s family members and friends sent letters to the court testifying on her behalf. They described her as a kind, loving person.
Junge said he was touched by the letters, but added that the person they described was not the same person sitting in the courtroom today.
“This person is a drug addict,” he said. “Whether that former Ms. Goracke can reappear later in her life is her choice.”
Through a plea bargain arrangement, Junge said, Goracke had all her other meth-related charges dropped, except for the felony drug possession charge. She sought to have her sentence reduced to probation without prison time, including doing community service educating others about meth.
However, Conkel said, “The crime you committed, I think you’ll agree with me, was extremely serious. The recklessness was pretty severe.”
He ordered her to serve 49 1/3 months of prison time, with 24 2/3 months on supervised release, or parole. She will get credit for the 64 days of jail time she had already served. Conkel waived all fines and surcharges.
He said the prison sentence was partly issued because of the severity of her crime, but also because he thought the extended period of incarceration would give her the best chance of beating her addiction to meth.
Conkel, Kasal and Junge all recommended that she apply for the state Department of Corrections challenge incarceration program, a boot-camp model which has shown positive results in getting criminal offenders off meth.
Speaking in an interview after the sentencing, Kasal said, if Goracke qualifies for the boot-camp program, she could get her prison sentence reduced.
“She could get out earlier,” Kasal said, “within a year-and-a-half or less.”
Conkel concluded the sentencing by telling Anita, “Ms. Goracke, good luck to you.”
(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com [2])