From Decatur County Prosecutor Nathan Harter
Michael Jorgensen was sentenced on November 16, 2022 by Judge Tim Day in the Decatur Circuit Court, after pleading guilty to being a Serious Violent Felon in Possession of a Firearm as a Level 4 Felony. He also admitted to being an Habitual Offender. The parties entered a plea agreement in which Jorgensen was sentenced to 16 years, with six of those years in prison and the other ten on supervised probation.
The State, represented by Prosecuting Attorney Nate Harter, noted Jorgensen’s lengthy criminal history, beginning in 1999 and continuing to today. “This defendant has been convicted of crimes in six counties with one more pending in a seventh county. From false informing through stolen property, up to dealing methamphetamine, Mr. Jorgensen has done it all. That history matters when we fashion a just sentence that will keep the public safe.”
Harter wants to recognize Matt Terkhorn of Greensburg Police for his work in this case. “Terkhorn spotted Jorgensen driving the wrong way on a one-way street, and then through diligent follow-up enforcement was able to build the case we ultimately prosecuted.” Looking at the publicly available documents, it appears that Jorgensen was extremely cooperative in admitting to both the firearm and controlled substances.
Harter expressed satisfaction with the outcome. “The plea I offered considered that Jorgensen took responsibility for his actions. His cooperation and his acknowledgment that he needs professional help to fix the underlying issues in his life further pushed me toward a sentence the requires prison time, but also gives him an extended period of time to prove he can implement the lessons he learns. It also made a difference to me that the firearm had not been used to commit a crime like threatening or harming another person.”