A 66-year-old woman was sentenced to four years in prison this week after being convicted of importing more than $15,000 of crystal meth into Cortez.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just overwhelmed,\u201d the defendant Darlene Fidel told Chief District Court Judge Doug Walker moments before her sentence was imposed.<\/p>\n
In custody at a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, Dec. 1, Fidel requested that she be placed on probation, apologizing to the court for getting \u201cmixed up\u201d in a criminal lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou had 207 grams of meth,\u201d Walker told Fidel. \u201cThat 7-plus ounces of methamphetamines was undoubtedly bound for Montezuma County.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arguing for leniency on Fidel\u2019s behalf, public defender Katie Whitney explained that her client lived a law-abiding life for 60 years, adding she succumbed to a life of crime only after her husband\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
\u201cMs. Fidel became vulnerable,\u201d Whitney said.<\/p>\n
Whitney added that Fidel experimented with methamphetamines only to be closer to a love interest, but the drug took control causing her life to \u201csnowball out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe wants to ditch that lifestyle all together,\u201d Whitney said.<\/p>\n
According to authorities, Fidel and a co-defendant, previously sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection to the case, rented a vehicle and drove to Phoenix to purchase the illicit drugs. The volume of methamphetamines in question had a street value of more than $15,000.<\/p>\n
Requesting a two-year prison sentence, District Attorney Will Furse agreed that Fidel lacked any criminal history prior to 2011, but he indicated that she was more than just a drug addict. Furse noted that Fidel was also arrested on other charges this year, including theft after burglarizing a law enforcement officer\u2019s residence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe Ms. Fidel should be removed from the community,\u201d said Furse.<\/p>\n