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An Albert Lea woman was sentenced Monday to five years of probation and a 21-month stayed prison sentence in Freeborn County District Court for selling drugs to a confidential informant with a juvenile present in November 2021.

Sarah Cox was convicted of one count of third-degree drug sale in March after a jury trial. She is the last to be convicted out of five people, one of which is Cox’s daughter, who were arrested on warrants in mid-November 2021 for selling drugs to informants.

Cox testified and admitted that the substance she thought she gave the informant was heroin or oxycodone, but once the drugs were tested by the BCA, they tested positive for methamphetamine and oxycodone.

Assistant Freeborn County Attorney Abigail Lambert argued for an upward departure from the presumptive stayed 21-month prison sentence, arguing instead for an executed prison sentence, citing the aggravating factor of having a child present during the sale.

She said a crime like Cox’s is exactly why the court has the ability to depart from state sentencing guidelines.

Cox’s lawyer, Paul Spyhalski, said departures from a stayed sentence to an executed prison sentence were extremely rare and said his client has been in treatment, has been doing well in that setting and is amenable to probation. He acknowledged there was a child present during the crime, but noted it was not a child in her care.

Cox said she recognized she should be setting a better example for her child and grandchildren and that she was sorry for what she brought to the community, the court and the state.

She said she is also grateful for the treatment program she is a part of and is looking forward to continued sobriety.

Freeborn County District Court Judge Ross Leuning said video taken of the drug sale showed a child standing at the left of Cox’s arm during the transaction, and he questioned how anyone could sell drugs with a child so close.

“It’s that kind of activity this community cannot have. … It’s dangerous. …” Leuning said. “It ruins lives.”

He said the bigger problem is the long-term impact of that kind of behavior on the child and what kind of example that leaves. He said he wrestled with a decision because it was not a clear cut case for a departure.

While Lambert wasn’t wrong in her assessment, Leuninig said he wished he knew more about the impact of the incident on the child, as he was not aware of any measurably proven harm done.

Regardless, he said it did not make him confident in Cox’s ability to be a parent or grandparent.

He ordered Cox be placed on probation with the stayed 21-month prison sentence and credit for 110 days served. The sentence also included Cox completing all her treatment programming and after care, completing an updated chemical assessment, a diagnostic assessment and cognitive skills program, among others. He said he hoped the programming would help her reset and start making better decisions.

He warned Cox if she violated probation she could have to serve the prison time.

Lambert also asked for 364 days in jail and no direct or indirect contact with minors during the probation.

Spyhalski said while he understood where Lambert was coming from, part of treatment programming includes rebuilding relationships.

Leuning said knowing that family is important to anyone’s rehabilitation, he would make a compromise that during her treatment, after care and cognitive skills programming, Cox could have no unsupervised contact with a minor, but once those were completed she could again have unsupervised contact during the remainder of her probation.