Judge tells former Meridian nurse to turn life around during sentencing on drug charges
An Ada County judge took a softer approach recently when sentencing a former nurse arrested on drug charges, but warned him that he must have a “permanent fork in the road” by changing his lifestyle.
Police found Gregory Applegate Jr., 28, of Meridian, falling asleep behind the wheel of his crashed Jeep SUV — which was still running — after it struck a pole at a Starbucks drive-thru in Eagle in December 2021, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.
Applegate pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance and misdemeanor driving under the influence. A third charge for drug paraphernalia was dismissed at the prosecutor’s request. He changed his plea from not guilty to guilty in a deal last October.
At the time of his arrest, Applegate admitted to smoking fentanyl right before emergency responders arrived, court documents show. A police search of his SUV revealed “multiple prescription pills,” a burned piece of aluminum foil, a lighter and several straws with burned ends, according to a probable cause report.
Applegate had DUI arrests from 2017 and 2019, and a misdemeanor theft conviction from 2019. His LinkedIn pages show that he previously worked as a nurse in multiple locations around Boise, with the most recent being Cascadia Healthcare. Steve LaForte, attorney for Cascadia Healthcare, told the Statesman last September that Applegate did not work for the company then.
During his sentencing on March 28, Applegate spoke to 4th District Judge Cynthia Yee-Wallace about his mental health issues and commitment to turning his life around. Instead of giving him prison time, Yee-Wallace assigned conditions that she said she hoped would help Applegate overcome his struggles with substance abuse.
For possession of a controlled substance, Yee-Wallace ordered a withheld judgment — meaning Applegate could seek dismissal of the charges after successfully completing his sentence, which was five years of probation and 100 hours of community service.
She encouraged Applegate to use his probation time to figure out how to heal “the parts of you that make you reach for things on the outside to heal what’s really on the inside,” court records show.
“I think once you heal that stuff — which is super hard work — it becomes a little bit less heavy to deal with managing your substance abuse and mental health issues,” Yee-Wallace said.
As part of probation, the judge ordered Applegate to seek help from a mental health counselor and substance abuse treatment program. She also required that he see a medical professional and follow their recommendations.
Yee-Wallace said she didn’t have a problem with the use of methadone, a drug mentioned by Applegate at sentencing that is used to treat those with opioid addiction, she did not believe it would be enough on its own.
“Methadone is not going to save you,” Yee-Wallace said. “It can maybe get you to a place where you can accept treatment and maybe start to look at some of the things that you’ve never received, like unconditional love and acceptance of yourself, and healing the parts of you that make you depressed.”
On the DUI charge, Yee-Walace sentenced Applegate to 30 days in the Ada County Jail and suspended his driver’s license for 150 days. For one year, Applegate will be allowed to operate a vehicle only with an interlock device that requires drivers to pass a breathalyzer test before driving.
