FAYETTEVILLE -- A woman was convicted Monday evening of possessing an estimated $8,000 of cocaine and a prescription that wasn't hers. She was sentenced to 10 years at the Arkansas Department of Correction.
Kristy Ann Livingston, 39, of Springdale faces 15 other felony drug charges, ranging from possession to possession with intent to deliver and delivery. She also has a hot check charge.
Livingston was stopped on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard by a Washington County Sheriff's Office deputy at the request of the 4th Judicial District Drug Task Force on Jan. 29, 2018, according to testimony. The deputy said Livingston was driving erratically.
The task force had Livingston under surveillance for some time and attached a tracking device to her car. She was stopped after returning from Morrilton, where police believed she was picking up drugs, according to testimony.
A police dog indicated there were drugs in Livingston's car and a search found almost 3 ounces of cocaine and 11 Vyvanse capsules, for which Livingston didn't have a prescription. The Vyvanse also was in a bottle with other medication. The bottle had her name on it. Vyvanse is used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, according to its maker.
Prosecutors said the cocaine was worth between $80 and $120 for each 0.035 ounce depending on the quality.
Livingston's lawyer told jurors she didn't know cocaine was in a game box on her passenger seat. Peter Giardino told jurors police were on a fishing expedition.
"When they pulled her over, they were already looking for drugs," Giardino said. "When they put a tracker on her car, they were already looking for drugs."
"They don't give out trackers without a warrant. And, they don't give out warrants without probable cause," Courtney Cassiday, deputy prosecutor, told jurors.
Washington County Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay sentenced Livingston to the jury-recommended eight years on the cocaine charge and two years on the prescription drug charge. Lindsay ordered the sentence to run consecutively. The case wrapped up about 8 p.m. Monday.
NW News on 10/23/2019