Hurley man gets prison for Gogebic drug charge

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Bessemer - A Hurley man was sentenced to over three years in prison in Gogebic County Circuit Court on a methamphetamine charge Tuesday.

Jakob Wayne Applekamp, 28, was sentenced to at least 40 months in prison for conspiracy to deliver meth. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.

"Mr. Applekamp's participation in (an effort to bring drugs into the area) included his living at a camper at the residence where meth transactions were continually occurring. Within in that camper, at the time the search warrant was executed, they found a handgun. Although Mr. Applekamp asserted the handgun belonged to Jeffrey Schmeige, there was a co-defendant who indicated he had witnessed Mr. Applekamp holding the gun after a Dodge pickup truck drove past the residence," Circuit Judge Michael Pope said when imposing his sentence. "In addition, it is apparent from pre-sentence materials Mr. Applekamp was using methamphetamine during the time he occupied the camper.

"But even more egregious than that ... he participated in the wiring of money to someone in Minnesota for the purpose of purchasing methamphetamine."

Applekamp pleaded guilty to the charge in December as part of a plea agreement that had a second felony, the delivery of meth, dismissed Tuesday.

Applekamp was one of seven defendants arrested in July in connection to an effort to bring meth from Minnesota to the Gogebic Range.

Applekamp testified at his plea hearing he went to Walmart on July 22 to send a money order to pay for drugs.

"That night Skinny (which Applekamp later said was Jeffrey Thomas Gorecki) showed up over at Schmiege's house, where I was staying in the camper, and requested I (go) with him to Walmart to do a money transfer," Applekamp said at the time.

While he said it wasn't explicitly spelled out, he understood the $2,500 money order was to pay for meth being brought to the area.

Applekamp testified that among the reasons he knew the money was being used to purchase drugs was he was told to say the money was for car repairs if questioned.

"That's when I knew, in fact, (the money) was being used for methamphetamine," he testified.

Applekamp's attorney, Anne Katte, argued while Applekamp was involved in bringing meth to the area; he was kept in the dark regarding most of the details and didn't bear the same degree of responsibility as some of the other co-defendants.

Katte asked Pope to impose a sentence toward the lower end of the Michigan Department of Correction's recommendation of 24 to 40 months, arguing Applekamp had substance abuse issues and while he has taken steps to address his illness, he didn't have the tools to fight his addiction.

"I need and want the help to quit relying on drugs to suppress my emotions," Applekamp told Pope.

Applekamp was arrested on marijuana-related charges in Iron County Wisconsin Saturday while out on bond in the Gogebic County case, which Gogebic County Prosecutor Nick Jacobs argued meant he wasn't bound by the plea agreement's requirement to recommend a sentence in line with the Department of Corrections. He asked Pope to impose a sentence of 48 months to 20 years.

Pope said Applekamp's arrest Saturday didn't play into his sentencing decision - at least in part because Applekamp has the right to be presumed innocent of the charges until proven guilty and therefore the charges shouldn't be held against him at this stage in the legal process.

Applekamp received a jail credit of 34 days for time served prior to his sentence.

Applekamp is the sixth co-defendant sentenced in the case, with the others receiving prison sentences of between six and 15 years.

The final co-defendant - David Wayne Opsahl, 45, of Big Lake Minn. - is scheduled to be sentenced next month.