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Kayla Johnson
Judge to defendant: ‘It was your addiction that led you to all these offenses.’
#MasonCountyCourtNews
By Allison Scarbrough. Editor.
LUDINGTON — A 25-year-old Ludington woman convicted of resisting and opposing police and breaking and entering a vehicle was sentenced to serve four months up front of a one-year discretionary jail term.
“It was your addiction that led you to all these offenses,” Judge Susan K. Sniegowski said to Kayla Jean Johnson, of 202 S. Rowe St. “You were high on drugs and looking for money to buy more.”
She pleaded guilty in two files last July to resisting and opposing police; attempted resisting and opposing police; and two counts of breaking and entering a vehicle to steal property less than $200.
“This case hits home, personally,” said Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola. Johnson’s brother died from a heroin/cocaine overdose in which there was criminal prosecution involved, Spaniola said. “I cannot come up with a stronger argument of why you should not use drugs — having a sibling die. She’s following the same path. All of us in this courtroom want Kayla to be a happy, healthy, productive individual, but she’s the only one who can make that decision.”
“She understands that she has some addiction problems, which she has addressed,” said her attorney Douglas Stevenson. “We have one night where she apparently lost it.”
Sentencing guidelines in the case are 0-9 months, said Spaniola.
“You know quite plainly the outcome,” the judge said. “Your brother died. It just boggles the mind that you would choose to do heroin. You’ve seen the impact on your parents. I really hope that you get the help that you need.”
The judge gave Johnson credit for 59 days served in jail.
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