A woman convicted of cooking meth while driving along Interstate 64 East in York County told a judge she has had a drug addiction problem for at least 15 years.
Christie Ann Smith, who received a 20-year sentence Thursday with all but two years suspended for a manufacturing methamphetamine charge, learned how to cook the schedule II drug in West Virginia, and said she was not selling the meth, just using it for her herself.
“When you don’t have the money to pay for an addiction, you still want it,” she said at a hearing in York-Poquoson Circuit Court on Thursday.
Smith, a Maryland resident, was on her way to visit family April 7 when she decided she “wanted something to smoke,” choosing to cook the drug in the car while she drove, she told the court.
A Virginia State Police trooper saw her driving erratically near mile marker 234 on I-64E at around 8:30 p.m. and pulled her over, finding the lab inside the car.
York-Poquoson Commonwealth’s Attorney Benjamin Hahn said Smith was “quite cooperative” and “chatty” with the state trooper after she was pulled over and explained how she cooked the methamphetamine, describing the red bottles, coffee filters, Drano drain cleaner, water bottles and Coleman fuel she used in the process.
One lane on the interstate was shut down for several hours that night as the York County Division of Fire and Life Safety’s hazmat team cleared the scene.
After spending about nine months in jail and remaining clean, Smith said she felt like a “normal person” for the first time in years.
She said she plans to enroll at the New Life For Youth Mercy House, a faith-based yearlong addiction rehabilitation program in Richmond.
Her attorney Brandon Waltrip said she must first take care of a similar drug charge in West Virginia, for which she received a bond.
Circuit Court Judge Richard AtLee Jr. gave her a lesser sentence than was recommended but interrogated her about her decision to cook the meth while driving.
“You not only put yourself at risk with the use but you put everybody else at risk with the cooking,” AtLee said.
Along with the manufacturing drug charge, she was charged with one count of driving under the influence of drugs, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, one count of providing a false identity to a law enforcement officer, one count of driving without a valid license and one count of driving on a suspended license, but those were dropped against her during a preliminary hearing.
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