BRITTANY RUSSELL

CRYSTAL FALLS — A Florence, Wis., woman convicted of selling methamphetamine will spend a minimum of 16 months in prison.

Brittany Russell, 30, could serve as many as 20 years for the delivery or manufacture of a controlled substance, a felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Defense attorney Dan Jaspen noted Russell did not have any previous convictions and asked that Iron County Trial Court Judge Donald Powell sentence her to one year in the Iron County jail, as recommended in the pre-sentence investigation report.

Iron County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Powell agreed Russell had no other convictions but called the amount of methamphetamine she sold “concerning.”

“I ask this court treat Ms. Russell the same way they treat any other defendant,” Powell said. “No more, no less.”

Russell apologized for “everything that’s taken place,” saying she had learned from the experience.

“Ms. Russell, I’m very disturbed by the fact that you delivered more than 1/8 of an ounce of methamphetamine,” Judge Powell said, later adding he normally handed down lengthy prison sentences for defendants convicted of dealing heroin or methamphetamine in the county.

“I am moved by the fact that you have no prior criminal record,” Judge Powell said. “For that reason, I will sentence you to serve 16 months to 20 years in the Michigan Department of Corrections.”

According to the criminal complaint, authorities with the Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team arrested Russell for selling methamphetamine May 16 in Iron River.

Russell pleaded guilty Sept. 30 in exchange for the dismissal of charges of conspiracy to deliver or manufacture a controlled substance, a 20-year felony; possession of a controlled substance, a 10-year penalty; and bringing contraband into a prison, a five-year felony.

Additionally, Powell agreed she would not object to Russell’s participation in the prison’s alternative incarceration program, or boot camp.