BEATRICE – A 53-year-old woman who was a week away from graduating from the Southeast Nebraska Drug Court, will now be in prison, instead.


Lorey Wilson was sentenced Thursday in Gage County District Court, to 18 months in state prison for methamphetamine possession, possession of the drug Alprazolam, and tampering with evidence.


Chief Deputy Gage County Attorney, Amanda Spracklen-Hogan sought the maximum term on each of the three charges, which totals five years. Spracklen-Hogan cited Watson’s criminal record, continued violations of court orders and being a high risk to re-offend.


"But, also based on her actions in the underlying case, where her friend suffered a drug overdose and the defendant was caught trying to destroy evidence of that drug use. Fortunately, that friend made a recovery. But too many times, we lose people to addiction and overdoses....and a five year sentence may be exactly the length of time it will take Ms. Watson to appreciate how choosing to feed her addiction, rather than working a recovery program, truly impacts her own life, as well as the lives and wellbeing of others in this community."


Gage County Public Defender Lee Timan countered that the case did not warrant the maximum prison term.
"But for the fact that this was a drug court revocation, would this PSI stand for the idea that somebody should go to prison for five years. It does not support that. Yes, she's high risk in a number of categories...she's also low or medium risk in a lot of categories. Her criminal history...the most serious punishment she's had up to this point in her life, was nine months in jail that she served in 1992, for a DUI charge."


Watson told the judge she was disappointed in herself. District Judge Rick Schreiner said it simply appeared to be a case of consistent behavior. The judge has prior experience as a prosecutor in the drug court program.
"Watching people graduate....and remaining drug free...some of it involves watching people graduate and go out in the parking lot, and drink. And, some of it involves watching people participating, dead on a floor from a drug overdose....or seeing people who graduated from drug court dead, laying on top of a bag of methamphetamine."


Schreiner said Watson went into the drug court program for the wrong reason…simply to get rid of a felony conviction, but then return to drugs. Schreiner said sobriety is a gift he wishes Watson would have received.
The judge did not order any post-release supervision for Watson, who could be eligible for release from prison in about eight months.