Man sentenced to 15 years on meth charges

A Russellville man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the meth-related charges he received in February of 2010.

Gerald Lee Benstine, 36, formerly of 111 Sockwell Ave., Apt. 4, pleaded guilty to first-degree manufacturing of methamphetamine in October, Franklin County Assistant District Attorney Doug Evans said.

On Monday morning, Franklin County Circuit Judge Terry Dempsey sentenced Benstine to the maximum 15 years of prison time for the charge.

Benstine was charged with the crime in February after officers with the Russellville Police Department discovered an active meth in his apartment while executing a search warrant.

According to authorities, the lab was still cooking and the apartment was filled with a cloud of chemical smoke.

“This crime is more disturbing than some meth lab crimes because the defendant had an active meth lab cooking in an apartment complex where innocent people could have been injured,” Rushing said.

“We felt Mr. Benstine needed to be severely punished for his actions and we think Judge Dempsey’s sentence in this case is definitely appropriate.”