Lawyer gets one year for felony drug charges

ALBION, Ind. (WANE) A Kendallville lawyer who tried to fake his own death in July was sentenced to a year in prison for a felony drug offense, according to our partners at KPC News .

The terms of his sentence also restrict Jon A. Criss, 43, from practicing law unless the Indiana Disciplinary Commission authorizes him to do so.

Criss pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a Class D felony; maintaining a common nuisance, a Class D felony, possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor; possession of a synthetic drug, a Class A misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor.

Criss was sentenced to two years, one year suspended and one on probation. He has been given 34 days of credit for his one year sentence. He was also fined $1000, is required to pay $366 in court costs and was charged $400 for substance abuse assessment.

Criss was arrested on July 25 at his residence in the 8000 block of County Road 550 East without incident after law enforcement officials asked for the public's help in locating him.

The felony drug charges charges against Criss stemmed from items recovered during the execution of a search warrant on July 17 at Criss' home.

Criss' license to practice law was suspended on June 22. The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary said it was suspended because he failed to comply with legal education requirements.  

During an initial court appearance in July, Criss admitted to submitting a false obituary using an online form to the KPC News. The obituary, with a different spelling of his name, was published in the KPC News' obituary section:

KENDALLVILLE — John Chris, 43, of Kendallville died Wednesday, July 18, 2012, in Kendallville.
A memorial gathering will be on Oct. 25 at Crown Hill Cemetery, 330 W. 32nd St., Indianapolis.
Criss told the prosecutor and the judge that he sent in the obituary to keep people away from his house because people were stealing items from his home.

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Information from KPC News.