Mother of Bristol Palin's boyfriend pleads not guilty to drug charges
Published Monday, January 5, 2009
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Stumble It!ANCHORAGE -- A woman whose son is engaged to marry Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter has pleaded not guilty to felony drug charges for allegedly selling a powerful prescription painkiller.
Sherry Johnston - whose 18-year-old son Levi Johnston is engaged to Palin's daughter, Bristol - was arrested Dec. 18 on six felony drug counts, accused of selling Oxycontin.
The 42-year-old Johnston entered her plea Monday at an arraignment in Palmer, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
According to authorities, Sherry Johnston sent text messages to two police informants discussing drug transactions before her arrest in December. An affidavit says the text messages referred to "coffee" as a code for Oxycontin.
Johnston was arrested after state troopers served a search warrant at her Wasilla home. She is out on bail.
The case began in the second week of September when drug investigators intercepted a package containing 179 Oxycontin pills. That led to the arrest of the suspects, who agreed to be informants.
In the affidavit, Johnston is accused of setting up a meeting at a store. The document says the informant received $800 to make a purchase, meeting investigators later with 10 pills of 80-milligram Oxycontin.
A second purchase was made the following day, authorities said. This time the informant wore a hidden camera and a microphone.
A third purchase occurred Nov. 26. The informant was wired for the transaction and this time police videotaped the meeting.
A drug investigator has said that authorities delayed the arrest until after the November election, in which Palin was the Republican vice presidential candidate, the newspaper reported.
Investigator Kyle Young sent an e-mail to the Public Safety Employees Association saying the search warrant of Johnston's house was delayed for political reasons.
"It was not allowed to progress in a normal fashion, the search warrant WAS delayed because of the pending election and the Mat Su Drug Unit and the case officer were not the ones calling the shots," Young wrote in the Dec. 30 e-mail.
The warrant was delivered the same day as Sherry Johnston's arrest.
Public Safety Commissioner Joe Masters insisted the case was handled fairly and said no one in the governor's office knew troopers were investigating until Sherry Johnston's house was searched.
After the house was searched, Masters said he called Palin's chief of staff, Mike Nizich, to alert him of a potential media frenzy.
Col. Audie Holloway, the troopers' director, also vigorously disputed that there was anything irregular in how the case was handled.
A message left for Young with his union was not immediately returned Monday.
Levi Johnston and Bristol Palin recently announced the birth of their son. The baby, Tripp, is the governor's first grandchild.
Palin and the Public Safety Employees Association, which represents troopers, have sparred over a high-profile dispute that became known as Troopergate.
At the center was former commissioner Walt Monegan, whom some say was dismissed because he would not fire a trooper involved with a messy divorce with Palin's sister.
A Legislative Council found that Palin had abused her office but the firing was legal since Monegan was an at-will employee. A subsequent investigation by the Alaska State Personnel Board found there was no probable cause to believe Palin or any other state official violated ethics laws. Palin maintains that Monegan was ousted over budget disagreements.
Community Discussion
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This story is about Sherry Johnston but it is being used to drag Palin thought the mud. Why not just say Sherry Johnston instead of "A woman whose son is engaged to marry Gov. Sarah Palin's daughter"?
Since when are we held accountable for our in-laws?
Here we go again - The Governor, her appointed flunkies ("Commissioners"), and the Dept. of Public Safety. Round two. Will Palin actually get caught abusing her power this time and get impeached? Stay tuned folks - am sure this is just the beginning.
Mind you, the only thing Palin seems to have a problem with (and has been found guilty of so far) is ethics. Ethics violations....again and again and again... What a wonderful example she sets in that she has demonstrated once you attain a certain level of authority ethics becomes just a word to which at most one pays a modicum of lip service. I can see where she took several pages out of George Bush's book on ethics!
My third cousin's great-grandma's ex-husband's niece's daughters friend once got pulled over by Wooten. Now we can start talking about Troopergate again!!!
Seriously, did this article get picked up from the National Enquirer?
Paging the Cult of Palin... Come in Cult of Palin... Your presence is requested in the Sherry Johnston thread.
Fairbanksgas;
You hit the nail on the head. This is nothing more than sensationalist reporting. It is unfortunate that so many people who assume guilt until innocense is proven take the bait.
The News Miner Used to say "Integrity is a newspapers greatest asset." They need to reflect on that motto.
Oh Puleeeze!!!! Let's all start policing our in-laws! My son's are beaut's!
"Woman Tied To Palin"... what a joke!!!
I'll wager that every single one of us can be "tied" to someone else that has committed crimes or been in trouble. Since when do I have to answer for them!?!?!
Just another excuse for the NewsMiner to find any reason to put Palin in the negative. This story has nothing to do with her, and yet hers is the only name listed in the title.
Sherry Johnston still has less felony counts that Unca Ted, and she, unlike him, hasn't even been convicted. I say Sherry should go on the Rush Limbaugh show and beg for forgiveness like he did. Rush had thousands of OcyContin pills and got off scott-free and so should Levi's mom. Stop the hideous drug war on Americans. If wealthy white male, Rush Limbaugh, doesn't go to jail for his thousands of illegal pills, poor white people (or any shade of people) shouldn't have to go either. If wealthy white male, Unca Ted, doesn't go to jail for seven felony convictions, poor white people (or any shade of people) with less felonies, shouldn't have to go either. Aren't we all equal under the law? (I know. It was a joke to ask such a silly rhetorical question.)
If Obama's children's grandmother was busted for selling OxyContin pills, the Palinistas would be on that story like stink on poo. That said, I think both sides are wrong to hold the other side accountable for the actions of their in-laws. It sure sells papers though, doesn't it?
The juicy headline should have read, "Palin's Daughter's Baby Daddy's Mama Pleads Not Guilty to Same Crime Rush Limbaugh Committed but was Never Busted For."
that is just a sad headline , this article belongs in the police blotter at best
ya know, instead of just being able to flag and suggest removal on comments we should be able to do the same on news stories, lets delete this one and see what the next earth shattering article is!
Sherry will be found innocent,then it will come out that Levi rewired some of the jurors homes for "apprentice practice".
This story is from the Associated Press ... not a story by the newsminer.
This is from the Associated Press --- but did the Newsminer have to print it this way or even report it this way.
The obamabots love these threads ..... they are non-issues for the Governor who obviously did not choose the parents of the young man that her daughter fell in love with....
Barry Soetoro fans love this type of stuff; they must lead a dull life indeed. LOL!!!
This becomes a story if the investigation was delayed due to the election....oh wait.
Did anyone besides Healy_Dem, scobysnack, and dobieman actually READ the article?
Also, even though the story itself is from the AP, I believe it is up to each individual newspaper to come up with a title for it.
As usual right on Doris. My world would be mighty small if I did not look past the spin on the news to what really goes on.
We as modern Americans have the unenviable distinction being the guinea pigs for a relentless onslaught of advertising and spin and every kind of exertion aimed at swaying the public mind that the combined media can throw at us. Year in year out it does not stop. Here at the end of it we have the Brazilian wax job of all time coming our way, about a 20 year ripping sensation while the criminals that did it are golfing, drinking, drugging, at expensive out of the country resorts living high on the hog from the greatest ripoff of an economy the world has ever seen. We are supposed be so involved in this kind of sensational b.s. we don't notice? Who owns the A.P. press now anyway?
A few more head line grabbers like this and roaptrip and his knucklewalking brigade may boycott this internet site.
The soap in Wasilla never ends. Roflmao!!! A hillybilly heroin pusher involved in queenie's family and she is now accused by the cops of interring with the investigation.
Good to see Andrew back. I see this time he is playing the "not a citizen" card. John Andrew or is it Andrew John? Either case those are odd names for someone of Mexican heritage. What is the story there Andrew?
dog
Just so everyone knows, when I say "Oxycontin" in an email, I really mean "coffee".
Another Valley trash story?
Dobieman you are flat out lying. Palin has not been found guilty of anything. An investigator decided that she had not broken ANY law. The firing was found to be LEGAL. The investigator issued an OPINION that said she "probably" allowed her personal feelings to intrude on the decision. An investigator (for a group without jurisdiction) finding "probably" is not a conviction, it is not being found guilty. Guilty is a finding by verdict, there has been no proceeding that could lead to a verdict. So you tell us what she was found guilty of by whom was she found guilty and what was her sentence for being found guilty since you seem to know more than was reported in any Alaskan newspaper I have read. Until you can prove otherwise I stand by my first sentence, "you are flatout lying".
Seriously, did this article get picked up from the National Enquirer?
Fairbanksgas, my girlfriend and I have had dealings with the National Enquirer and they have MUCH HIGHER standards!! Seriously!!
I agree that this article should NOT have the name Palin in it at all. It has nothing to do with the Palins. Now, if my daughter was engaged to the son of someone who was facing 6 felony counts of drug dealing - I would be highly irate! I especially wouldn't want my grandbaby anywhere near her. I'm glad she's pleading innocent - throw the book at her and send her away for good. By the way, doris, as other people have said, drug dealing is far different and worse than drug using. Drug dealers often deal to kids.
Who cares, people buy and sell drugs everyday. Some of them are legal, some arent. Just a badkwards way of striking at Palin. Im not a Palin supporteer, but geez, give the woman a break, now she is responsible for a another grown womans actions? Boring....:)
The DNM does not print all the crap that the AP sends it. I heard that yesterday, an AP writer had a story that Piper didn't take her afternoon nap. And she was cranky. What kind of mother would allow that type of behavior? It's an embarrassment for Alaskans that do take naps and aren't cranky. Frankly, I've had it up to here. If the governor cant control her young daughter, how can we expect her to govern. It's just not ethical, allowing special favors for HER daughter.
Impeach Palin Now!
We are all guilty by association!
Incredible -
typical of the 'journalism' I have come to expect these days
stupid headline, stupid story
"i'm sure if obama's mother in law was busted on drugs it wouldn't be "non news"
"i'm sure if obama's mother in law was busted on drugs it wouldn't be "non news
Uhh, it would have to be Obama's daughters boyfriends mother to be the same as the situation in this article, and it would be "non-news" in most peoples opinion.
SNAP99712 ... calm down. Take a deep breath. So people have different opinions ~~~~~ that is okay.
truth?innews
This is not an OPINION, this is fact and he is deliberately misstating the facts.
It sure seems like Sarah could have given the grandmother of her daughters baby a little support by going along to court with her. Beings none of her imidate family would not support her. Oh well knows maybe in the end Sarah will bail her out. Can some one tell me why their are not pictures of the new baby. What are they hiding here?
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