Topeka Woman Guilty of Drug and Gun Offenses

In a press release issued last week, the US Attorney’s Office, District of Kansas, announced that Amber Martindale pleaded guilty to federal drug and gun charges.

The drug in question was methamphetamine; the guns, a .38 caliber pistol and a .22 rifle. She is expected to get a sentence of between five and forty years, with no chance of parole. Fines could total as much as 2.25 million dollars combined.

Mentioned, but not stressed in the press release is that Ms. Martindale got multiple counts because officials purchased methamphetamine from her on multiple occasions -- six in total. This brings up the question of whether or not such multiple offenses should count. Not that they aren’t each a crime, but if the police purchase illegal drugs from someone, and then don’t arrest them right away, a string of charges is more likely to build up.

Compare this to what would have happened had officers obtained an arrest warrant after the first purchase (which undercover agents made in her home). Then, it’s a single charge.

It’s not just about fair or unfair for the criminal. She did the deed, and she did it multiple times. It’s also not just about building a stronger case – one with a series of offenses that show a continuing intent to break the law. The difficulty comes in when you let a dealer stay in operation, even though you have the evidence to charge them already.

This is always a decision law enforcement has to make with undercover operations. At what point do you pull the plug?

Thankfully, nothing tragic happened in this case. And police may have wanted to discover her supplier or network. But it doesn’t always go well, as the recent “Fast and Furious” scandal (with the ATF selling guns to Mexican Cartels) shows.

So… how many other sales happened to how many addicts, while police built their case?