Woman pleads guilty in drug case
The Associated Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 2 months AGO
GREAT FALLS (AP) — A 29-year-old woman who fled the Anaconda hospital last summer after she and her newborn tested positive for methamphetamine has pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in a case prosecutors say involves smuggling the drug from Los Angeles to Great Falls, Havre and Butte.
Michelle Renee Yallup pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, conspiracy involving a firearm and drug trafficking and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The meth conspiracy charge calls for a 10-year minimum prison sentence, the Great Falls Tribune reported.
Prosecutors agreed to dismiss five other charges when U.S. District Judge Brian Morris sentences Yallup on May 28.
Prosecutors alleged Yallup was one of 20 people involved the conspiracy that operated between the winter of 2013 and September 2014. To date, those involved have agreed to forfeit $2.33 million in cash and nearly $56,000 in property.
Yallup became the subject of a state investigation after she left the Anaconda hospital against medical advice hours after giving birth to her son on June 17.
She has pleaded not guilty to a forgery charge that alleges she signed her sister’s name when she checked into the hospital. Her hospital bill was nearly $13,400.
Yallup was arrested five weeks later at a truck stop near Willard, Utah.
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