LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. – A mandatory prison plea agreement has been entered for a Lake Havasu City man who, along with his girlfriend, brought methamphetamine to Mohave County from California.
Rick Ives, 58, admitted he and Jana Vernon, 60, purchased four ounces of methamphetamine for $250 in April.
Ives told Judge Ryan Esplin that he has long abused drugs to self-medicate when he deals with PSTD episodes. He said they traveled to California where larger quantities of the drug are available at cheaper prices.
Ives said the drugs were for personal use and not for sale. He doesn’t understand why he goes to prison while she was placed on probation when she used her money to fund the meth purchase.
“Half of it was hers and half of it was mine,” Ives said. “She got four months in the county jail. I was thinking I was going to get the same thing, but I guess not.”
Terms of the deal require Esplin to send Ives to prison for 2 to 3.5 years at a Sept. 3 sentencing hearing.
