Casper Woman Gets Prison Time for Selling Meth
A woman was sentenced to a term of imprisonment Wednesday morning for selling methamphetamine in the Casper area.
Natrona County District Court Judge Daniel Forgey sentenced 41-year-old Doral K. Holmes to a prison term of three and a half to six years.
Holmes pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.
In exchange for her guilty plea, the state agreed to argue for a prison term of no more than four to six years. The state will also not petition for the revocation of Holmes' probation in a separate criminal matter.
In that case, Holmes was convicted of the same crime. She received a suspended prison sentence of five to seven years, and has been on probation since.
But after avoiding prison in that case, Holmes "didn't slow down at all," Assistant District Attorney Trevor Schenk told the court on Wednesday. "She was delivering large quantities of methamphetamine. At least on one occasion, a quarter-pound."
Schenk emphasized that this latest offense marks Holmes' third conviction on a drug conspiracy charge.
"She hasn't gotten the message that this is not okay," Schenk added.
Charging papers in the case say a special agent with the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation in September 2016 discovered a meth trafficking ring in the Casper area. After identifying the alleged leader of that ring, the agent found Holmes was used as one of the people who would distribute meth for the leader.
On March 21, a confidential source spoke with the special gent and said they obtained meth from Holmes on three separate occasions. Holmes fronted the source a quarter-ounce, half an ounce and an entire ounce, respectively.
Special agents interviewed Holmes the next day. Court documents say she identified her supplier and admitted to selling meth for the leader of the trafficking ring.
"In some people's lives, there are some events that change their direction," responded Holmes' defense attorney, Joseph W. Cole.
"She was doing it because she felt threatened and trapped," Cole said, explaining that Holmes' supplier fronted the meth to her, but Holmes couldn't resell the meth for enough money to repay her supplier.
Cole added that Holmes was waiting to get into a position where she could go to authorities and provide them useful information.
Since her arrest, Cole told the court, Holmes has cut ties with family members who are still involved with drugs, and has aggressively pursued treatment and counseling.
"She's doing now what she should have done before," Cole said, suggesting that Holmes be sentenced to a decade of probation instead of prison, as incarceration could "break that train of recovery."
"Live has been this vicious circle of all this craziness, and I didn't know why," Holmes said before being sentenced. "I have lived my entire life making other people happy thinking it would make me happy."
Holmes said she suffered sexual and physical abuse from "before I can remember until I was twelve."
She accepted responsibility for her actions, but pleaded for a sentence that did not include incarceration.
"I'm not saying that's not the person I was, but it's not the person I am now," Holmes said tearfully, her voice shaking. "I've figured it out now."
After Holmes was sentenced to prison, Cole asked for her sentence to be reviewed after one year. Forgey noted that the Wyoming Rules of Criminal Procedure allow for such an opportunity.