Former Palisade attorney gets 5.5 years for meth charges

By Amy Hamilton
Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Former Palisade attorney James Zink was sentenced in court this morning to 5.5 years in prison after being caught last year with drugs in his home and selling methamphetamine to an undercover cop.

According to terms of his plea agreement Zink was set to receive between 4-6 years in prison for the charge of drug possession with the intent to distribute.

Zink, in court this morning, said he never distributed drugs in the community and used meth for “its intended purpose, to stay up and get stuff done.”

That statement did not resonate with Mesa County District Judge Valerie Robison, the judge who sentenced him. Robison said she had never before heard of meth having an intended purpose beside getting high.

She said she did take into account Zink’s commitment to the community for offering indigent residents reduced prices on attorney fees and that he worked to preserve the historical nature of the building where he practiced law. Zink has been disbarred since being arrested on the drug charges in July.