A 28-year-old California woman faces up to 20 years in prison and $150,000 in fines this morning at her sentencing on drug trafficking and bribery charges.
Kimberly Lopes told Judge Michael Gibbons in January that she felt a jury would convict her of the charges she faced in connection with an April 2008 drug arrest in Stateline, where she allegedly sold 29 grams of methamphetamine.
In exchange for Lopes' plea, charges of sales of a controlled substance, attempted trafficking and being a habitual felon will be dropped.
Lopes' husband, Aaron Winton, 41, also pleaded guilty to bribery charges and faces sentencing this morning in Gibbons' court.
According to court documents filed by Bill Abbott, investigator for the district attorney's office, Winton and Lopes were accused of bribing two codefendants who were set to testify in her trial on drug trafficking charges.
In telephone conversations recorded at the jail, Winton and Lopes discussed the case and what might happen if the witnesses could be convinced to lie on the stand, or not testify.
According to the report, Lopes helped Winton locate names, addresses and telephone numbers of the witnesses.
