A pregnant Bullhead City woman drew a prison sentence in her drug case last Friday, despite her attorney’s request for a chance at probation. Defense lawyer Scott Ruffner said his client Tracey Cayer, 43, is 16 weeks pregnant and deserves a chance to deliver her baby while out of custody.
Ruffner told Mohave County Superior Court Judge Derek Carlisle that he can always send Cayer to prison if she violated terms of probation. And Ruffner said drugs found in a Mirada Drive apartment in November, 2017 belonged to her boyfriend at the time, Chase Salveson, 48.
“The codefendant was the mastermind, so to speak, and it was his product,” Ruffner said. Salveson is serving a 25 year prison term for his involvement in the case through a plea agreement that resolved his other criminal matters as well.
Authorities reportedly seized 27 grams of methamphetamine, 10 grams of heroin, and 63 grams of marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, pills and weapons from the suspected drug dealing residence. Ruffner said Cayer was a drinking buddy of Salveson’s and that she sometimes stayed at what he described as a flophouse.
Judge Carlisle said three prior felony convictions, one for possession of dangerous drugs for sale, did not serve Cayer well in her bid for probation. He said prison is appropriate given Cayer’s criminal history and her guilty plea to attempted possession of dangerous drugs for sale.
Carlisle ordered a 2.5-year prison term.
