Drug possession was enough for one Hot Springs woman to be sentenced to 14 years in federal prison and five years of supervised release in U.S. District Court in Fayetteville on Wednesday.
Michelle Friedman, 38, was sentenced on one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine, according to court records. A $2,400 fine with interest waived was also imposed by U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks, who presided over the sentencing hearing.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents learned on or about Jan. 3 that Friedman was purported to be selling methamphetamine from a hotel room in Fayetteville, according to Friedman's plea agreement. These agents contacted Friedman's supervising parole officer and learned that she had an active arrest warrant for absconding supervision and an active search waiver on file.
DEA agents and Friedman's parole officer located her vehicle at the hotel and witnessed her husband entering a room, the agreement states. After confirming Friedman's presence in the room with hotel staff, they knocked on the door and entered, finding both her and her husband. Friedman reportedly said that everything in the room belonged to her; her husband was only visiting.
A search of the room led to officers finding a box containing what appeared to be methamphetamine, as well as a large flashlight, according to the agreement. A small bag containing what appeared to be a controlled substance was found in the flashlight's battery compartment. A digital scale was also found in a pair of women's shoes.
The DEA Crime Lab confirmed that the box and flashlight contained 627 grams of methamphetamine and 29.9 grams of a mixture containing a detectable amount of heroin.
Friedman was indicted March 4 on the possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine charge, as well as one count of possession with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing heroin, according to court records. She pleaded innocent to these charges during her arraignment on April 8, but entered a guilty plea to the methamphetamine charge during a change-of-plea hearing on June 11. Her heroin charge was dismissed as per her plea agreement.
The case was investigated by both the DEA and Arkansas Probation and Parole, according to the office of David Clay Fowlkes, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hunter Bridges prosecuted the case for the United States.