FERGUS FALLS, MINN. -- Almost 10 years ago, an Otter Tail County judge told Randi Puyear that experiences learned from selling marijuana could make her a better parent.
Authorities now claim the 47-year-old woman had methamphetamine materials in her home when a house fire Tuesday killed two children, including one of her 11-year-old twin daughters. Puyear's daughter, 11-year-old Paige Susick, and Tianna Kadel, 2, Erhard, Minn., were alone in the home.
Court records show Puyear pleaded guilty in 1992 to selling 8.6 grams of marijuana to an informant. A judge suspended a 30-day jail term and placed her on home monitoring.
"Being convicted of a felony is going to hurt me for the rest of my life and my kids, too," court records show Puyear telling a judge at a sentencing hearing. "I'm very sorry for what I did, and I would never do it again."
The judge then told Puyear she was receiving a light sentence. "You have a responsibility to be a responsible parent," the judge said. "If you can become a better parent because of this experience, I'm satisfied, but if you ignore this experience ... then I probably have made a mistake."
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The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor after Puyear completed probation.
In 1998, prosecutors filed a felony charge against Puyear accusing her of selling meth to an informant one year earlier. The charge was dropped because a "witness is unavailable in this case," court records state.
"We haven't stopped crying," said Darlene Kadel, the grandmother to Tianna Kadel. "This is horrible. No matter what, Tianna can't come back. She did nothing wrong, and Tonya didn't do anything wrong by taking her daughter there."
Family members were upset with authorities, who released few details about the meth accusations. "I think the whole thing is a bunch of lies," Darlene Kadel said. "There was no meth lab upstairs because that's where Randi and her kids lived.
"Tonya would have never taken Tianna somewhere if she thought this was going on."
Readers can reach Forum reporter Steven P. Wagner at (701) 241-5542
