A 23-year-old woman was sentenced Wednesday to three years and eight months in prison for selling meth.
Mary E. Rustad of West Fargo pleaded guilty in Clay County District Court in July to one count of second-degree controlled substance crime.
She admitted selling more than three grams of meth April 29.
In addition to prison time, a district judge fined Rustad $300 and ordered her to pay $525 in restitution.
As part of a plea agreement, another meth selling charge and a charge that she conspired to sell a simulated controlled substance for the benefit of a gang were dismissed.
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The court complaint containing the gang-related charge stated Rustad was affiliated with the 23rd Street Crips, a Fargo-based gang.
The now dismissed complaint referred to a May 13 transaction in which a substance purported to be meth was sold for $600. Authorities later determined the substance was not meth.
Rustad read a letter to Judge Michael Kirk apologizing to the court and the community for bad choices she has made.
"It kills me every day to know that I could be so young and dumb," she told the judge Wednesday.
Rustad said she plans to stay away from drugs after prison and to warn young people about their danger.
"I plan to enter junior high schools to tell my story about how meth ruined my life," said said.
In a separate case, Robert R. Abel, 26, Moorhead, was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison for his conviction on a charge of second-degree controlled substance crime.
A jury found him guilty in July of possessing six or more grams of meth in May.
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He was fined $1,000 and given credit for 209 days.
Abel will be allowed to serve his sentence concurrent with time he is serving in North Dakota.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555
