Geurkink pleads guilty, will get five years in prison

By DAWN SLADE
Mille Lacs County Times
Posted 2/14/03

Jon Wesley Geurkink, 35, of Pease, pleaded guilty on Friday, Jan. 31 to manufacturing methamphetamine (meth).

Geurkink was originally arrested May 2, 2002 for operating a meth lab at his home. He was arrested on assault charges 17 days following his release on bail.

The case was handed over to Tim Rank of the Minnesota Attorney Generalís Office because of the heavy case load Mille Lacs County is currently experiencing.

The attorney generalís office held open an offer for one day that the county had made to Geurkink.

Rather than go to trial, Geurkink accepted the offer and pleaded guilty to manufacturing meth.

He will receive 60 months (five years) in prison, with credit for time served. Had Geurkink taken his case to trial, he could have received up to 86 months in prison.

The five-year sentence includes an upward departure of 17 months for aggravating circumstances. Part of those circumstances include the fact that the meth lab was located near a school.

Geurkink is currently in the Mille Lacs County Jail until sentencing takes place.