Austin woman to serve prison term for role in meth sales

An Austin woman must serve more than one year in federal prison for her role in a methamphetamine bust in December 2008.
Emily Elaine Young, 22, got a 15-month prison term Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute meth, court records show. Young, who was released pending her imprisonment's start, will have three years of supervised released after prison.
Judge John Tunheim granted Young's request for a lesser term than called for by sentencing guidelines.
Local authorities, including the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, arrested Young and her boyfriend, Jason Reinartz, 35, while serving search warrants Dec. 5 on the couple, their Lansing Township home and a northeast Austin residence linked to drug sales.
Authorities reported finding about seven ounces of meth in a box Reinartz carried into the Austin home at 800 Second Ave. N.E., a criminal complaint says. The box also allegedly had 92 grams of marijuana, urine-cleanser products, a scale and two cell phones.
Later that month, a federal grand jury indicted Reinartz and Young for knowingly conspiring together and with others to distribute at least 500 grams, or about 1.1 pounds, of meth from April 2008 to Nov. 25 in Minnesota.
Young's attorney John Fossum, of Northfield, Minn., argued in a court document last week that Young deserved probation rather than a prison term. Young, who has no significant prior criminal record, is employed, paying taxes and abstaining from drugs, he wrote. He added that placing Young in prison would be a "burden to the taxpayers."
Young has taken steps to deal with her addiction, including completing outpatient treatment and continuing to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Fossum wrote.
"(Young) had a minor role in the offense," Fossum stated. "She assisted her boyfriend but was not the instigator of the offense."
Reinartz, who remains in custody, faces one count of conspiracy to distribute and posses with intent to distribute meth. He was set for a change-of-plea hearing Feb. 2, but court documents from that hearing remain sealed, records show.
A recent court document, however, shows a plea agreement was reached in the case, with both sides agreeing that Reinartz doesn't qualify as a "career offender." It also states that both sides are preparing for Reinartz's sentencing.
In July 2008, Reinartz opened A-Town Tattoo. He was on supervised release after serving time in state prison for drug convictions in Mower County.

Source