Drug dealing grandmother receives 4-10 years in prison

A grandmother who sold methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School was sentenced Monday to 4-10 years in prison.

Carrie Sue Rhodehouse, 51, was arrested on June 14, 2023.

Rhodehouse was accused of conducting five separate drug sales out of her Lassen Way home Feb. 7 and June 6.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, investigators recovered and seized numerous items related to the illicit sales and possession of controlled substances. During the execution of the search and arrest warrants, multiple adults were located within the residence along with a 3-year-old child.

Rhodehouse entered guilty pleas to the charges in December.

She was sentenced to 1-3 years for one count of child abuse and neglect, 2-5 years for the sale, transport or administration of a controlled substance, plus an additional 2-5 years for that transaction being conducted within 1,000 feet of a school, and 4-10 years for allowing a child to be present during a drug transaction. She was given credit for 32 days time served and was remanded into custody.

• A 23-year-old woman’s probation was revoked on Monday and she was sentenced to prison after revealing that she’s pregnant.

Jessica Lynn Demarco was ordered to serve 19-48 months in prison.

Attorney Brian Filter sought probation so Demarco could participate in a treatment program.

“I have a really bad addiction,” she said. “This pregnancy changes a lot of things for me.”

Demarco was facing probation violations on two cases, including one that started March 7, 2022, when she was a passenger in a stolen vehicle involved in a high-speed pursuit from Topsy into Carson City.

A warrant was issued for her arrest when she failed to appear in court after that case.

On April 15, 2023, she was involved in another incident where she and another man left a Gardnerville pizza restaurant in a state of intoxication. They were pulled over on Highway 395 near Airport Road and both taken into custody with drugs.

She appeared in court two weeks later, on May 1, 2023, where she was given a chance at Western Nevada Regional Drug Court after she admitted to a felony drug possession charge.

She failed to appear in drug court and a warrant issued in September 2023, which led to her arrest.

Prosecutor Erik Levin pointed out that Demarco failed drug court twice.

“She’s shown she is not capable of complying with probation,” he said.

District Judge Tom Gregory agreed.

“The court has extended you many opportunities,” he said in ordering her to serve her sentences. DeMarco was granted 192 days time served.