Minden woman admits home-based meth sales

A 56-year-old Minden woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to selling methamphetamine from her home in Johnson Lane.

Nadine Murray pleaded guilty to one charge of trafficking in a controlled substance, methamphetamine, in a plea agreement with the district attorney's office.

"I sold methamphetamine to a person I'd known for 13 years," she told District Judge Dave Gamble. "I did it two different times."

Murray said she knew the substance was methamphetamine and that it was illegal.

Gamble agreed to release Murray on house arrest to the custody of her sister in Silver Springs. She will be monitored by an ankle global positioning system and is subject to random search and seizure and testing for drugs.

Murray has been in Douglas County Jail on $250,000 cash bail since her arrest with four other people after an early morning raid Jan. 10 at her home on East Valley Road in Johnson Lane.

She has been in jail since then except for a four-week in-patient substance abuse treatment program in July and August in Carson City.

Gamble ordered Murray to stay out of Douglas County and to have no contact with any codefendants - including her ex-husband - prior to her sentencing Dec. 4.

He said the only exception would be if Murray had a doctor's appointment. Her lawyer, Marc Saggese, said his client wanted to put her affairs in order prior to sentencing and see a doctor for what she said was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Prosecutor Michael McCormick argued against Murray's release because she faces mandatory prison and has a felony record.

"This is not Ms. Murray's first time in this rodeo," McCormick said. "She has a prior felony and we will be arguing for the upper end of the sentence."

Gamble said Murray had incentive not to violate conditions of her release.

"If you were to depart jurisdiction, things would get so dramatically worse," he said.

Murray said she had 10 months of sobriety and a chance to think while sitting in jail.

"I know what I've done and I'm sorry," she said.

Murray faces 15 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Murray originally was charged with several felonies in connection with the drug raid.

Thomas Murray, 58, is set for a preliminary hearing Nov. 9 on a felony charge of maintaining a place for unlawful sales of a controlled substance.

The district attorney's office is seeking forfeiture of the residence at 2861 East Valley Road.

The arrests were the culmination of a month-long investigation prompted by neighbors who complained about traffic at the East Valley Road residence 24 hours a day.

The sheriff's department Street Enforcement Team investigation included several controlled purchases of methamphetamine at the home after officers concluded that the house was being used to store and sell controlled substances.

Officers recovered 2 ounces of methamphetamine with a street value of $5,600.

A motorcycle which had been stolen in Reno also was discovered at the house.

In 1989, the Murrays were arrested for cultivation of marijuana at the residence, and in 2001, the couple was arrested in connection with a methamphetamine lab, according to sheriff's reports.

Nadine Murray agreed to forfeiture of money recovered at the house as well as a pickup truck.