womengets 5 years for home meth lab

[mopsie]

Woman gets 5 years for home meth lab

Posted Friday, May 12, 2006



Not long ago, Ki A. Fies was a college-educated working mother living in Burr Ridge with her children.

She is now a convicted felon who lost her two sons, home and career and is heading to prison.

The suburban woman’s downward spiral from drug addiction was the focus Thursday of a court hearing in which Fields admitted operating a clandestine methamphetamine lab with her boyfriend in a backyard shed, not far from her kids’ swing set.

Prosecutors agreed to a plea deal in which Fields, 37, will serve a five-year prison term in exchange for her truthful testimony against the boyfriend, S R. s, 33, of Plymouth, Ind., who still awaits trial.

The two were arrested last June after police discovered what they said was an illegal meth lab on the secluded, one-acre property in the affluent western suburb.

Police became suspicious after spotting drug paraphernalia and smelling strong odors in the home while escorting Fields’ husband, whom she was divorcing, to gather some belongings. They returned later with a search warrant and uncovered the lab.

Prosecutor Paul Marchese said Myers assembled a lab to “cook” the drug — a dangerous stimulant also known as crank, crystal meth or chalk. Marchese said Fields would shoplift pseudoephedrine tablets for Myers so he could make the meth and agreed to let him cook it in her shed. She admitted being paid for her role in the scheme.

Her defense attorney, R K, said M introduced Fields to the drug after they began dating about one year earlier and enlisted her to steal. He said M once held Fields against her will in his Indiana trailer for two days refusing medical treatment when she burned her leg from the flammable liquid. She later spent a week in the hospital.

K argued Fields had suffered enough.

“She lost everything,” he said. “The first time she tried it, she got hooked and her life spiraled downward to the point she was stealing. She has paid a high price.”

Authorities had to evacuate residents in about 40 homes for several hours after finding the explosive chemicals, such as anhydrous ammonia. Police also unearthed a tank of the dangerous chemical that had been buried. Marchese said Fields cooperated with police after her arrest to ensure the hazardous materials were removed.

Fields pleaded guilty before DuPage Circuit Judge Robert Anderson to felony unlawful possession of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver.

She has been in custody since her arrest last summer. Fields must serve half the five-year prison term before being eligible for parole. She also was ordered to pay $5,500 in restitution to the police and fire agencies who investigated the meth lab.

source diale