Sentence one of first in Operation Pill Sweep
Katrina Sue Batey was sentenced this week to probation in an Operation Pill Sweep arrest for trafficking illegal prescription medication.
Batey, 52, of 6410 Big Level Road in Mill Spring was charged with possession with intent to sell and deliver a schedule III controlled substance, two counts of trafficking opium or heroin, maintaining a vehicle/dwelling place for a controlled substance, selling/delivering marijuana and selling/delivering a schedule VI controlled substance.
Batey’s charges were consolidated into possession with intent to sell and deliver a schedule III controlled substance. She was sentenced to 10-12 months at the N.C. Department of Corrections, which was suspended on the condition Batey serve two years of supervised probation and pay court costs.
Batey was also ordered to pay $2,575 in restitution to the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), with $775 to the SBI special fund, which was used to purchase the drugs, and $1,800 to the SBI lab, which was used to test the drugs.
Judge Mark E. Powell handed down the sentence during a Polk County Superior Court administrative session Wednesday, Nov. 30.
Batey was arrested and charged during an undercover operation conducted by the SBI and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff’s office arrested approximately 20 individuals in and around Polk County in an effort to get illegal prescription medication off the streets.