Published: May 15, 2008 01:32 am         

Guilty plea entered in big pot bust

GREENVILLE — A Dallas County woman has learned earning a master’s degree does not keep you from being sentenced to prison for transporting almost 50 pounds of pot across Northeast Texas.

It may, however, help keep you from staying there very long.

Heather Marie Hill, 32, of Garland, had entered an open plea of guilty to one count of possession of between five and 50 pounds of marijuana, meaning no plea bargain had been arranged in the case.

During a hearing Wednesday in the 196th District Court, Judge Joe Leonard sentenced Hill to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division, the maximum sentence for a conviction on the third-degree felony offense.

“We would not offer or agree to probation in this case, and we recommended a prison sentence because of the large amount of marijuana she had when she was arrested,” said Hunt County District Attorney F. Duncan Thomas.

Leonard did agree to consider shock probation in the case, as Hill had no prior criminal record. Hill’s attorney also submitted evidence showing Hill had obtained a masters degree from the University of Phoenix.

Under shock probation, an individual receiving a sentence of 10 years or less who has never before received a felony prison sentence can be considered for probation within the first 180 days of their sentence.

Hill was arrested on April 7, 2006 by an officer with the Greenville Police Department. Hill was driving a 2003 Camry northbound on Wesley Street and failed to signal a right-hand turn as she turned onto the Interstate 30 access road.

The officer, upon coming into contact with Hill, became suspicious after he noticed as many as eight air fresheners hanging from the turn signal lever in her car. A K9 unit with the Commerce Police Department was called to the scene and the canine hit on the trunk of the vehicle. Approximately 48 pounds of marijuana was found in a bag inside the trunk.

Hill told investigators that she had agreed to transport the marijuana for her boyfriend from the Dallas area to a motel in Texarkana, in exchange for a $1,000 payment. Hill, who was unemployed at the time, said she was desperate for money to pay her rent and utility bills.