Ontonagon woman gets prison for drug charges

By RICHARD JENKINS

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Bessemer - An Ontonagon woman was sentenced to two years in prison on drug charges Tuesday in Gogebic County Circuit Court.

Alyssa Lou Pollard, 25, was sentenced to a minimum of two years in prison for each of the two charges - one count of delivering cocaine and one count of delivery of a controlled substance on school or library property - however, the two sentences will be served at the same time.

"I can't make you be sober, that's your choice," Circuit Judge Michael Pope told Pollard. "All I can do is put you in a place with (tools to help your sobriety). ... I'm convinced that, at this point in your life, the only way you'll maintain your sobriety is incarceration."

During the sentencing, Pope said Pollard appeared to be an intelligent, caring woman but he wasn't convinced she had accepted that she was an addict. He said while the local treatment resources weren't close to adequate, she had exhausted the options and by sentencing her to prison would hopefully give her the chance to break the cycle of addiction.

One of those new resources may be the Michigan Department of Correction's boot camp program. While it's unclear whether Pollard qualifies for it, Pope said he would make clear he had no objection to her placement in it, if she is eligible.

Nine other charges against Pollard were dismissed Tuesday as part of the plea agreement Pollard made in October that called for her to plead guilty to the two felonies she was sentenced on.

The charges stem from a trip she made to Ironwood's Depot Park on Nov. 23, 2015, when Pollard sold drugs to someone she said at her sentencing hearing she thought she was helping.

"He had messaged me asking if I knew where to find drugs, because he felt sick and that he needed help to get better (by using drugs)," Pollard testified at her October plea hearing.

Pollard received 127 days credit for time previously served.

She was also ordered to pay fines and costs.