The road to true romance is paved with shared experiences and for the next four years a Texas couple will share the experience of sitting inside a federal prison. U.S. District Court Judge Marcia A. Crone sentenced Amanda Lynn Mollison, 29, and Justin Chadwick Brown, 39. to spend 51 months in prison for their roles in a meth conspiracy.
It wasn't your typical drug conspiracy, according to the grand jury indictment. Brown was already sitting in the Collin County, Texas Detention Center facing charges of stealing, the latest on a long rap sheet that includes 13 convictions, mostly for fraud, theft, and meth charges.
He probably was not going to be behind bars long on his current charge, but he couldn't wait until he was on the streets again to get high, according to the indictment.
Brown was needing a pick-me-up message from his girlfriend and did not care what kind of message she sent in his Greeting Card, as long as the card received a special coating. When the plan was concocted is not exactly clear, but Brown and Mollison, who also has a shorter rap sheet, but has frequently strayed to the wrong side of the law with arrests for credit card abuse, tampering with government records, and fraud, discussed strategy during telephone conversations while he was in the Collin County Detention Center. Neither realized that calls are routinely recorded.
Texas prisoner wanted girlfriend to work on card so he could get high
On September 30, 2016, according to the indictment, Brown asked Mollison "to work on my card tonight" because "I want to get high." Brown called her from the jail five days later to receive a status update on their project. "Did you do what I asked you to do?
he asked. She reported she had. Brown called her again the next day and asked if the greeting card had been mailed. She said it had.
The plan was thwarted when Sheriff's Office employees intercepted the greeting card when it arrived on October 11. They discovered that both the card and the envelope contained "a detectable quantity of a methamphetamine."
In fact, Mollison had not been discreet as she did her best to see that her boyfriend received what he wanted.
The greeting card and the envelope were both soaked with the illegal substance. After that, Collin County authorities began reviewing the recorded telephone calls and uncovered the conspiracy. The U.S. Postal Service was called in and eventually, a federal grand jury indicted the couple.
