Drug-dealing housewife gets probation

Courier staff writer

ALAMOSA A woman who sold prescription painkillers to an undercover law enforcement agent for thousands of dollars wont be joining her husband in the state prison system.

Twelfth Judicial District Judge Pattie Swift on Wednesday placed Hollye Mitchell on probation for four years and ordered the 35-year-old Manassa woman to serve 90 days in jail.

Prosecutors originally charged Mitchell with six Class 3 felonies, including three counts of distributing a Schedule II controlled substance and three related counts of conspiracy. But those charges disappeared when she became the latest member of a drug trafficking ring to reach a plea deal with the district attorneys office.

In April, Mitchell pleaded guilty to a lesser Class 4 felony charge of attempted distribution, and since the defendant has no prior criminal history, Judge Swift found she is an appropriate candidate for probation.

That sets her apart from her husband Jeffrey, who was sentenced in May to eight years in state prison for distributing a controlled substance.

Jeffrey Mitchell received a harsher sentence partly because he pleaded guilty to a more serious offense, but in his case, the court also took two other factors into consideration.

At the time of his sentencing, he had two prior felony convictions on his record. The court also took note of an undercover agents allegations that Jeffrey Mitchell carried a weapon in his vehicle.

Deputy District Attorney Mark Loy told the court Hollye Mitchells case is unlike any other one that most people have seen.

Shes a woman whos had very few interactions with law enforcement, aside from traffic-related offenses. Yet she sold significant amounts of oxycodone to an undercover Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent, Loy said.

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Drug-dealing housewife gets probation