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 veggie
Registered: 07/25/04
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 Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge 
#15764095 - 02/05/12 10:56 AM (3 months, 22 days ago) |
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Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge
February 4, 2012 - clarionledger.com
 Unless she wins her appeal, a Mississippi grandmother who spent $8.98 on a box of Sudafed must serve a year in jail.
For Diane Avera, a 45-year-old Meridian woman who does personal care for the sick, disabled and elderly, it has been a nightmare, she said. "I keep thinking I'm going to wake up, but I never do."
She is seeking a new trial in Demopolis, Ala., after being convicted of second degree intent to manufacture methamphetamine. If she loses, she plans to appeal to the Alabama Court of Appeals.
Crackdowns taking place across the nation on pseudoephedrine and other products used to make methamphetamine have caused her to become a "prisoner of the drug war going on inside America," said her husband, Keith. "When common household medications and disinfectants are now illegal to possess, I believe we have gone overboard with the drug laws."
In 2009, grandmother Sally Harpold was handcuffed and jailed in Indiana after she bought a box of Zyrtec-D cold medicine for her husband and a box of Mucinex D cold medicine for her adult daughter in less than a week.
Mississippi has one of the nation's strictest laws, requiring a prescription to purchase pseudoephedrine.
Marshall Fisher, director of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, said since the law's enactment, his agency has seen a 67 percent decline from the 960 meth labs it found the year before and an 80 percent decline in children endangered by meth labs.
While it is illegal to bring pseudoephedrine products back to Mississippi, authorities don't target those who do, unless they have been arrested in the past, he said.
"We have enough to say grace over without doing that silliness," he said. "The last thing we want to be responsible for is targeting grandma."
Avera, who has three grandsons, had no prior arrests. "The only thing I've ever had is a speeding ticket," she said.
On July 29, 2010, she was getting ready for a scuba diving trip in Panama City, Fla., with her husband and others.
Her scuba instructor, Bob Sample, had urged her to buy Sudafed or similar decongestant because she had ear trouble. "I told her to go get some three days out and get your sinuses dried up," he said.
After waiting too late to get a prescription, she stopped at the Walmart pharmacy in Meridian. There, she said, a clerk urged her to travel to Alabama, where Sudafed is sold over the counter.
She picked up her son and his girlfriend, who were living in Toomsuba. She also had two of her grandsons as well as the girlfriend's nephew.
They traveled to Demopolis, where police were conducting a sting operation. Pharmacists there informed police when anyone from Mississippi bought medicine containing pseudoephedrine.
Avera said she encouraged her son and girlfriend to each buy a box of Sudafed since they lacked health insurance. They stopped at CVS, where her son purchased Sudafed D.
She bought Sudafed at Walmart since she had a gift card, she said. She also bought crayons and glue sticks for her two grandsons starting school the next week.
After leaving Walmart, she said police officer Sgt. Tim Soronen pulled her over and asked, "What brings you to Demopolis?"
"I came over to buy some Sudafed for our scuba diving trip this weekend since we cannot buy it in Meridian anymore," she said she told him.
She said the officer asked if she knew it was against the law to cross the state line and buy Sudafed. (It is against the law in Mississippi to bring back pseudoephedrine products from another state, but Alabama law permits those from other states to buy the medicine as long as they sign.)
"No, sir, I did not know," she said she replied.
"I need you to step out of the car," he said.
"For what? I swear I didn't know. What did I do?" she said she asked.
"You came to Demopolis to buy some Sudafed. Step to the back of the truck," she said he told her.
The officer pulled her son from the truck, handcuffed him and searched him, finding a bottle for methadone.
She said she explained her son has had drug problems and that the methadone is a prescription.
"So he's a drug user?" she said the officer asked her.
She acknowledged her son's drug woes and said the officer began digging through her purse and asked if she had any drugs.
"No, sir, I don't do drugs," she said she replied.
Digging beneath the truck seat, officers found a pouch full of drug paraphernalia for crack cocaine. (Her son testified he had hidden the pouch, which was his.)
She said the officer remarked, "Thought you don't do drugs."
"I don't do drugs," she said she replied.
After she saw the crying children placed in the squad car, she said the officer asked if she wanted him to go ahead and call the Alabama Department of Human Resources "to pick up these kids."
A scene from her youth flashed into her mind of her brothers being taken away from her family by state welfare officials, she said. "I begged the officer, 'Please don't do this.'"
By this point, about an hour after being pulled over, she said she began begging the officer, telling him she would admit to whatever police wanted as long as they would "let my son take my babies."
He told her she had to confess all the Sudafed was hers, thereby putting her over the legal limit in Alabama, she said. "They made me admit to a crime I did not commit."
She began her statement: "I picked up Larry and Shanna from there (sic) house and came to Demopolis to buy some Sudafed for myself ..."
She told The Clarion-Ledger, "They told me to add that I was making crystal meth so I did."
She ended her statement: "I did not know it was against the law to cross the state line to purchase Sudafed. I promise to never buy another box in my life."
Contacted for comment, Soronen would not discuss the case.
Police jailed her, charged with intent to manufacture crystal meth. She said they handcuffed her hands and legs to a metal chair for 17 hours.
During the three-day trial in Marengo County Circuit Court, prosecutors used her statement against her.
District Attorney Greg Griggers said Avera confessed she was buying pills to have them cooked so she could get meth.
While out on bond, Avera took voluntary drug tests, and none came back positive. Some tests listed her creatinine level (related to kidney function) as "abnormal."
Griggers argued she had provided diluted samples. "She would water it down so you couldn't test it," he told The Clarion-Ledger.
Avera's attorney, John Wiley Hartley of Montgomery, responded that no one who administered the tests ever claimed the samples were diluted.
Griggers said Avera admitted to authorities she started using meth with her daughter and had been using for two years.
"That's a lie," Avera responded.
She said she acknowledged her children have struggled with drugs and have gone into rehab, but that she has never used drugs.
If she fails in her appeals, she would face the prospect of going back behind bars, she said. "I still am facing 10 more months in jail if I don't win."
She said she is frightened about being cut off from her grandchildren. "I've practically raised my two grandsons."
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 King Klick
That Guy Everyone Knows
 
Registered: 11/13/11
Posts: 1,970
Last seen: 10 hours, 47 minutes
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: veggie]
#15764141 - 02/05/12 11:08 AM (3 months, 22 days ago) |
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Absolute crap.
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"It is the "Devil" who caused women to show their legs, to titillate men - the same kind of legs,
now socially acceptable to gaze upon, which are revealed by young nuns as they walk about
in their shortened habits. What a delightful step in the right (or left) direction! Is it possible
we will soon see "topless" nuns sensually throwing their bodies about to the "Missa Solemnis
Rock"? Satan smiles and says he would like that fine - many nuns are very pretty girls with nice legs." -La Vey- Aka The Black Pope
-Selling Old Comis http://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/16286470
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boner soup
uHhHhhHHh
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: veggie]
#15764165 - 02/05/12 11:14 AM (3 months, 22 days ago) |
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And this, my friends, is the world we live in.
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Constantine
Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 1,416
Loc: 
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: boner soup]
#15764208 - 02/05/12 11:29 AM (3 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
She told The Clarion-Ledger, "They told me to add that I was making crystal meth so I did."
So they told her to admit she was making meth and although she's not a drug user and she just did it ? She's fucking stupid, too bad if she ends up in jail. Not saying she deserves it but would you admit to killing people if a cop told you to do so ?
I don't do drugs but if a cop asks me to admit I'm manufacturing meth I'll do it 
She looks like she could be a tweaker too
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God realized that it existed, and not only that, that it was the only thing that existed. "I Am!" proclaimed this being to itself, and it was.
Edited by Constantine (02/05/12 11:35 AM)
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 chopstick
slightly racist
Registered: 07/26/08
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Loc: Chin's Wok
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: Constantine] 1
#15764250 - 02/05/12 11:41 AM (3 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
Constantine said:
Quote:
She told The Clarion-Ledger, "They told me to add that I was making crystal meth so I did."
So they told her to admit she was making meth and although she's not a drug user and she just did it ? She's fucking stupid, too bad if she ends up in jail. Not saying she deserves it but would you admit to killing people if a cop told you to do so ?
I don't do drugs but if a cop asks me to admit I'm manufacturing meth I'll do it
She looks like she could be a tweaker too
Maybe she was just a desperate grandmother who didn't want to see her grandchildren carted away by state officials?
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better than sporks!
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Lord_McLovin
government issue
Registered: 04/09/11
Posts: 1,135
Loc: DEA Headquarter
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: chopstick] 1
#15764374 - 02/05/12 12:22 PM (3 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
chopstick said:
Maybe she was just a desperate grandmother who didn't want to see her grandchildren carted away by state officials?
This.
Don't forget that many people think that being a law abiding citizen excludes them from being raped by the government and getting thrown into a prison cell.
It's funny that they tell you in schools how "awesome" your system is, yet they don't explain to you how to properly manage a conversation with law enforcement (i.e. say what you have to say, tell them you do not agree with anything and then shut up) or how to properly exercise your constitutionally given rights.
But yes, of course, we all need to be saved from the dangers of drugs. 
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sonamdrukpa
Wayfarer
Registered: 10/18/11
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: Lord_McLovin]
#15764430 - 02/05/12 12:41 PM (3 months, 22 days ago) |
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So many conversations: "Why do you care so much about due process and police tactics and constitutional rights? I don't mind if the police can tap my phone lines and go through my garbage and pat me down at the airport, I haven't done anything wrong."
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Kizzle
Misanthrope
Registered: 08/30/11
Posts: 1,946
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: Constantine]
#15764456 - 02/05/12 12:48 PM (3 months, 22 days ago) |
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Quote:
Constantine said:
Not saying she deserves it but would you admit to killing people if a cop told you to do so ?
No and I'd also never send $1000 to a stranger in Nigeria to claim my million dollar lottery winnings yet there are many who do. Some people just get scammed easily, this time by the police.
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Nature Boy
Stranger than most
Registered: 07/09/07
Posts: 3,638
Loc: Samsara
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: veggie]
#15764592 - 02/05/12 01:30 PM (3 months, 21 days ago) |
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This is the most fucked up thing with regard to the war on drugs I have EVER read. OMFG. This woman should sue the crap out of the arresting officer and the department who processed her. Where was this arresting officer's supervisor???????????
FUCK!!!!!!!! What a waste of taxpayer money. I hope she gets a few million dollars in the settlement.
N.B.
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All submitted posts are by Someone Who Isn't Me (SWIM) - and in any event are works of pure fiction or outright lies. Any information, statement, or assertion contained therein should be considered pure unadulterated bullshit. Note well: Sorry, but I no longer answer PM's unless you are a long-time trusted friend, so don't bother. If you have a question, ask it in the appropriate thread...no exceptions. Anyone with less than 1,000 posts is automatically assumed to be a cop.
 
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boner soup
uHhHhhHHh
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: Nature Boy]
#15764619 - 02/05/12 01:38 PM (3 months, 21 days ago) |
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Sad thing is, shit like this happens all the time.
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CrossingTheStar
Unoriginal Philosopher
Registered: 11/13/11
Posts: 2,232
Loc: U.S. of A.
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: boner soup] 1
#15765140 - 02/05/12 03:56 PM (3 months, 21 days ago) |
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Maybe she is a  , she's pretty wrinkly for a 45 year old...
Either way, those cops should be issued pig-shaped badges.
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 Smoke enough weed and you'll never grow up, mentally. Peter Pan strain.
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boner soup
uHhHhhHHh
Registered: 09/08/08
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: CrossingTheStar] 1
#15765583 - 02/05/12 05:49 PM (3 months, 21 days ago) |
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Yeah, I didn't look at the picture until now.
She does look pretty methy,
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lifeiswhatyoumake
Mind Explorer
Registered: 09/30/11
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: boner soup]
#15767089 - 02/06/12 01:52 AM (3 months, 21 days ago) |
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Fuck, so, will we ever know for sure if she really was "innocent" or not?
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Life is what you make of it.
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nooneman
Stranger
Registered: 04/24/09
Posts: 2,897
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: veggie]
#15767151 - 02/06/12 02:52 AM (3 months, 21 days ago) |
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This is one of the sickest most depressing stories I've ever read.
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LongStrangeTrip
Deadhead
Registered: 09/19/09
Posts: 3,373
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: Nature Boy] 1
#15767395 - 02/06/12 06:20 AM (3 months, 21 days ago) |
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blahblahblah..
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Nothing I say or do is factual; every single thing I write is a work of fiction. Got no idea what I'm talking about here~
"Once in awhile, you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right"~ (Grateful Dead)
"o puer, qui omnia nomini debes"; "You, boy, who owe's everything to a name"~ Mark Anthony
"Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum."; "Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system."~ Cicero
Edited by LongStrangeTrip (02/06/12 06:04 PM)
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redeyesmj
werdo
Registered: 12/04/08
Posts: 894
Loc: Middle of kansas
Last seen: 4 hours, 4 minutes
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: LongStrangeTrip]
#15768091 - 02/06/12 11:11 AM (3 months, 21 days ago) |
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I was a tweeker for years and i thank she is one, does she diserve the jailtime she is looking at.... HELL NO but i bet she was buying pills for dope.
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Where am I at?
 
In a free society, the presumption must be that people can smoke, snort, eat or inject whatever they wish, so long as they do not harm others. The burden of proof should rest on those who would ban marijuana, not those who want it legal. That burden has never been met.
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LongStrangeTrip
Deadhead
Registered: 09/19/09
Posts: 3,373
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: redeyesmj]
#15768313 - 02/06/12 12:17 PM (3 months, 21 days ago) |
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^I just don't think it is that crazy to be running around trying to find allergy meds  buying allergy meds does not always equate to trying to make meth
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Nothing I say or do is factual; every single thing I write is a work of fiction. Got no idea what I'm talking about here~
"Once in awhile, you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right"~ (Grateful Dead)
"o puer, qui omnia nomini debes"; "You, boy, who owe's everything to a name"~ Mark Anthony
"Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum."; "Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system."~ Cicero
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Constantine
Registered: 05/01/11
Posts: 1,416
Loc:
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: LongStrangeTrip]
#15768567 - 02/06/12 01:19 PM (3 months, 20 days ago) |
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Look at her face, I really wouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be a
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God realized that it existed, and not only that, that it was the only thing that existed. "I Am!" proclaimed this being to itself, and it was.
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s0ulfire
Registered: 06/06/10
Posts: 458
Loc: USA
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: Kizzle]
#15768568 - 02/06/12 01:19 PM (3 months, 20 days ago) |
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Quote:
Kizzle said:
Quote:
Constantine said:
Not saying she deserves it but would you admit to killing people if a cop told you to do so ?
No and I'd also never send $1000 to a stranger in Nigeria to claim my million dollar lottery winnings yet there are many who do. Some people just get scammed easily, this time by the police.
This is the best way to describe what happened. The police forces in the south are all mainly still "strict and hick" (no offense to southerners) approach.
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"You can't see California without Marlon Brando's eyes" - Corey Taylor
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LongStrangeTrip
Deadhead
Registered: 09/19/09
Posts: 3,373
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Re: Innocent trip to Alabama spirals into meth charge [Re: Constantine]
#15768959 - 02/06/12 02:31 PM (3 months, 20 days ago) |
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Quote:
Constantine said:
Look at her face, I really wouldn't be surprised if she turns out to be a
Maybe your right... she could have also used heavily in the past and have gotten over it
Either way, as others have said, she was tricked into admitting a crime that she did not commit
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Nothing I say or do is factual; every single thing I write is a work of fiction. Got no idea what I'm talking about here~
"Once in awhile, you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right"~ (Grateful Dead)
"o puer, qui omnia nomini debes"; "You, boy, who owe's everything to a name"~ Mark Anthony
"Nihil est incertius vulgo, nihil obscurius voluntate hominum, nihil fallacius ratione tota comitiorum."; "Nothing is more unpredictable than the mob, nothing more obscure than public opinion, nothing more deceptive than the whole political system."~ Cicero
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