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LAGRANGE — A LaGrange woman, who disappeared the night before she was scheduled to go on trial for having just over a pound of methamphetamine and was later recaptured by her bond agent, will likely be spending the next five decades behind bars.

LaGrange County Superior Court Judge Lisa Bowen-Slaven on Monday sentenced Lindsay E. Grate, 36, to serve 48 years in prison after accepting her plea deal to plead guilty to a single charge of dealing in methamphetamine.

Grate, of the 3500 block of Hillside Drive, LaGrange has an extensive criminal history and had been designated a habitual offender by the court. Grate was arrested in May of last year after police visiting her home found over a pound of methamphetamine.

According to the original probable cause documents filed with the court, a pair of officers stopped by Grate’s home to speak to her about an unrelated investigation and reported they saw a small set of scales sitting in plain sight on a table in Grate’s living room.

They asked Grate to hand them the scales, which she did. A field test showed the scales tested for methamphetamine. After obtaining a search warrant for Grate’s home, officers found 529 grams – about a pound and two ounces – of methamphetamine, as well as a large quantity of small plastic bags.

Grate was arrested and charged with dealing in methamphetamine, a Level 2 felony punishable by 10 to 30 years in prison, and possession of methamphetamine, a Level 3 felony punishable by three to six years behind bars.

Grate spent four months in jail before being released last September on a $50,000 bond.

Grate was scheduled to stand trial on those charges in February, but disappeared the night before her trial. A local bond agent along with representatives of United Surety Agents, Inc., a company that insured her bond, apprehended Grate in March, saying she was preparing to flee the state. Grate was taken into custody and returned to jail.

Grate was rescheduled to stand trial in July but shortly before that trial was scheduled to start, she plead guilty to a single count of dealing in methamphetamine. During her Monday sentencing, the state had recommended she receive a prison sentence of 26 years. But the judge opted to sentence Grate to 28 years. In addition, Bowen-Slaven added an additional 20 years to her sentence because of Grate’s status as a habitual offender.

Since the state now requires inmates to serve three days before they are given credit for one day for good behavior, Grate won’t be eligible to be paroled until 2054.

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