Meth-dealing connection leads to 24-year sentence for Portland woman

Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press
Updated ·2 min read
1

PORTLAND, Ind. — A rural Portland woman convicted of dealing meth has been sentenced to 24 years in prison.

Robin K. Jacks, 50, was sentenced in recent days by Jay Circuit Court Judge Brian Hutchison after pleading guilty to a Level 2 felony that carried a maximum 30-year prison term.

According to court documents, Jacks was arrested last October after a probation officer and Jay County sheriff's deputies went to her home, along Jay County Road 900-S.

They reported finding in Jacks' bedroom about seven grams of meth, along with "four large bags of marijuana," drug paraphernalia including digital scales, and a handgun.

"(With) all of the drug items located in this room and barn along with the amount of drugs and the packaging and weighing items, this looked to be a dealing operation for methamphetamine and marijuana," a deputy wrote.

Investigators said they had received complaints from neighbors about the large number of people "in and out of this property all hours of the day and night."

Jacks reported she had lived at the property since being released from prison in 2018. She said she routinely ingested meth and accompanied a male friend to Dayton, Ohio, to purchase the drug.

Under the terms of a plea agreement, three other charges pending against Jacks — unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, dealing in marijuana and maintaining a common nuisance — were dismissed.

The Jay County woman's record included a 2016 conviction for dealing in a narcotic drug. She was also convicted of theft in 2008.

A man reported to be Jacks' boyfriend, Robert W. Faris, 47, last week pleaded guilty to a related count of possession of meth, a Level 4 felony carrying up to 12 years in prison, as part of a plea bargain that will see a dealing charge dismissed. His sentencing hearing is set for Aug. 21.

At the time of her October arrest, Jacks' brother, 44-year-old David L. Jacks, was determined to be living in a vehicle in a wooded area behind her home. He pleaded guilty to a related count of possession of meth in April.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Portland woman's second dealing conviction leads to 24-year sentence