News Photo by Reagan Voetberg Jeffrey Kortman is pictured in the 53rd Circuit Court in Presque Isle County on Monday.

ROGERS CITY — Jeffrey Kortman, 64, was sentenced to 16 to 40 years in prison for drugs on Monday in the 53rd Circuit Court in Presque Isle County.

In a plea hearing on May 11, Kortman pleaded guilty to seven charges. A habitual third offender notice applies to each charge as part of the plea agreement. A habitual offender notice raises the maximum sentence for each of the charges.

Kortman pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine for which he could receive a maximum of 40 years in prison.

He also pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver 50 grams or more of cocaine, less than 50 grams of oxycodone, and less than 50 grams of hydrocodone, separate charges that could each give a maximum of 40 years in prison.

He pleaded guilty to maintaining a drug house and maintaining a drug vehicle, which give a maximum of 4 years in prison.

He pleaded guilty to felony firearm for which he could receive 10 years maximum.

At his sentencing on Monday, Kortman received 13 to 40 years with 381 days credit for the methamphetamine charge, two to four years for the charges of maintaining a drug house and a drug vehicle, five to 10 years for felony firearm, 16 to 40 years for the cocaine charge, and 10 to 40 years for the oxycodone and hydrocodone charges. Sentences will be served concurrently.

Kortman was arrested in June 2025 when a traffic stop was conducted by the Huron Undercover Narcotics Team (HUNT) and the Michigan State Police. A consent search at his residence was granted as well.

The total amount of narcotics seized from his vehicle and residence were approximately: 231 grams of powder cocaine, 156.1 grams of methamphetamine, 50.2 grams of crack, seven hydrocodone pills, 46 oxycodone pills, $836 in cash, and an unregistered handgun. The total weight of all narcotics seized comes to 437.3 grams, which is 0.96 pounds of cocaine, crack and methamphetamine.

Kortman’s defense attorney Devin Pommerenke said that Kortman should be sentenced at the low end of the guidelines due to Kortman’s age and fragility.

Sentencing guidelines for a case are issued based on the scoring of offense variables, which give a picture of the seriousness of the crime, in a pre-sentencing investigation. Attorneys can argue during sentencing to lower or raise the scoring of offense variables, which can affect the guidelines.

“The guidelines that we have before us today are substantial for anybody but especially somebody with potentially limited time,” Pommerenke said.

Kortman was given an opportunity to speak, but chose not to.

It was later stated by Presque Isle County Prosecuting Attorney Zakary McLennan that the low end of the guidelines was 99 months, or about 8 years in prison.

McLennan said that in his discussions with HUNT, he was told that this case is among the largest if not the largest drug bust in Presque Isle County history.

“There’s a lot of ancillary effects to drug crimes, and especially when it’s at this quantity,” McLennan said.

He argued for a sentence of 15 to 20 years for Kortman.

Judge Aaron Gauthier had to decide whether to sentence Kortman to consecutive or concurrent sentences for three of the charges: possession of oxycodone, possession of more than 50 grams of cocaine, and possession of hydrocodone. Those charges had discretionary consecutive sentences, meaning the court could decide whether they should be served consecutively.

Gauthier ultimately decided on concurrent sentences for those charges saying that there were no aggravating factors between the counts themselves, they are merely a function of the fact that there were different controlled substances involved.

Gauthier said he had sentenced Kortman to six months in a drug case in Cheboygan County in 2021 and another six months in 2022 for a Presque Isle County drug case.

“Try and give people every opportunity to make changes and better themselves,” Gauthier said. “Mr. Kortman didn’t take those opportunities but really kind of doubled down on his involvement in the drug trade.”

Gauthier said he believed a proportionate sentence would take into account the repeated pattern of drug offenses in the 2020s, which does not call for a low-end guideline sentence. He said a proportionate sentence would be about the two-thirds mark of the guidelines, which ultimately lead to the 16 to 40 year sentence.