A grandmother will serve a year in jail for her involvement in a meth-making ring next door to an elementary school in the same house her 1-year-old grandchild was living.
The grandmother, Tammy Annette France, 41, entered a best-interest plea before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley to the charge of initiating the process to manufacture meth and was ordered to serve 363 days of a nine-year sentence, pay $2,000 plus court costs, and perform 16 hours public service work.
Her sentence comes after her daughter, Casey R. France, 19, was granted an eight-year judicial diversion in July on the charge of attempt to initiate the process to manufacture meth. She was also fined $3,000 plus costs and was placed on the 31st Judicial District Drug Court Program for a two-year period. The sentence means her daughter, the mother of the 1-year-old, will serve no jail time for the incident.
The charges were brought against the two late last year after officers received information the women had a meth operation at their home on Towles Avenue.
The location of the home, immediately beside Bobby Ray Elementary, placed it within the required 1,000-foot distance to be considered part of a school zone, thereby enhancing sentencing guidelines. Any illegal narcotics within 1,000 feet of a school, park, library or recreational center is covered by the law and makes the crime one step higher in the sentencing chain.
When officers arrived and executed their search warrant, they found numerous items used in the production of meth. They also found finished product.
The senior France denied any involvement in meth making, saying the psudoephedrine (an ingredient needed in the production of meth) was present because she has sinus problems.
“I don’t know anything about the jar with white residue and I don’t know anything about my daughter using meth,” France told police, noting even her pill grinder had medical purposes. “I grind my medication with it because I get tired of taking pills.”
Her denial was the reason for her best-interest plea. However, the plea still goes down as a guilty plea in the eyes of the law.