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Mom who hosted pharm party pleads to drug charge, sentencing next week
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FarkA Sturgis woman who admitted to providing Oxycodone to her teenage son is scheduled for sentencing next week.
Tara Fairbanks, 37, pleaded guilty in 4th Circuit Court to distributing a controlled substance to a minor, a charge that carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison and up to a maximum of 25 years. Fines up to $50,000 also are possible.
Fairbanks was arrested after a Sept. 6 party, where juveniles reportedly used the drugs she had given to her 17-year-old son, along with alcohol and cough medicine. Several of those juveniles were later taken to the hospital after their parents noticed they were not acting normally.
When she was arrested, Fairbanks was on probation for illegally obtaining prescription drugs. She admitted violating her probation, and Meade County State's Attorney Jesse Sondreal said Judge Jerome Eckrich sentenced Fairbanks to complete the two-year suspended sentence he had given her for that offense.
Last week's blizzard delayed her sentencing on the most recent charge. Judge Warren Johnson is scheduled to sentence her Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Additional charges against Fairbanks -- including unauthorized possession of a controlled substance, obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and keeping a place for the use or sale of a controlled substance -- were dropped in exchange for her guilty plea.
In a related case, Brandon Wipf, 18, Sturgis, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Wipf was accused of helping several juveniles steal over-the-counter cough medicine before the Sept. 6 party. An additional charge of illegally ingesting a controlled substance was dropped.
Magistrate Judge Michelle Percy sentenced Wipf to 30 days in jail, with all suspended on the condition he pay $400 in fines and costs, pay court-appointed attorney fees, complete a chemical-dependency evaluation and obey all laws for one year.
Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com
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