A 27-year-old Ketchum woman was sentenced to six days in jail after admitting Monday to stealing prescription medicine from her in-laws.
Barbara A. Whitesell pleaded guilty in Blaine County Magistrate Court to two counts of misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. In exchange for her guilty pleas, the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney's Office agreed to have felony burglary and controlled substance possession charges either reduced or dismissed.
Sentence was pronounced by Judge R. Ted Israel, who is quoted in court records as saying Whitesell's circumstance "appears to be an addiction problem first and a criminal issue second."
Whitesell was also placed on two years probation and given a withheld judgment, a court ruling that means the conviction can be removed from her record with successful completion of probationary terms. She was further ordered to undergo drug addiction counseling.
Whitesell was ordered to report for jail on Dec. 2. According to the terms of her sentence, she can serve her jail time in 24-hour increments. She was given credit for one day already spent incarcerated.
According to court records, Whitesell admitted to stealing two tablets of the pain medication hydrocodone from her "estranged" in-laws' home in Ketchum on Sept. 24. Records state that the family had attempted to get Whitesell to seek help for a drug problem prior to contacting the Ketchum Police Department.
A probable cause affidavit filed by police Sgt. Dave Kassner states that a video camera was set up focused on the in-laws' medicine safe after the family complained to police, and that Whitesell was caught on camera stealing the drugs.
Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com
Barbara A. Whitesell
