Local woman Annette Stuurmans, 53, was sentenced this week in District Court for the offense of "Obtaining a Controlled Substance by Forgery." That offense is a felony and governed by Idaho Code Section 37-2734 (2) (3).

The Information on file with the Court indicated that the charge was that on October 27, 2003 Annette Stuurmans obtained methadone by deception by changing the number of methadone pills prescribed. In the case before the court, a lawful prescription had been, according to the Information, altered by Ms. Stuurmans so that a prescription for 9 such pills was actually filled by the pharmacist for 90 pills.

The District Court handed down a suspended prison sentence of 1 to 3 years. The Defendant was also ordered to reimburse Boundary County $1,000.00 for the cost of the service of the Public Defender in lieu of a fine. She was ordered to pay the usual court costs of $88.50.

The sentence also called for a four-year supervised probation and 180 days of so-called "discretionary time" in jail. The discretionary time provides greater ability for a probation officer to discipline the probationer should there be a smaller violation.

In his remarks to the District Court, Prosecuting Attorney Jack Douglas noted that the record showed this Defendant, though in many ways a good and productive member of the community has two prior offenses of a similar nature. Those offenses were in 1982 and 1993, which Douglas said caused him to have some real concerns for the well-being of Ms. Stuurmans.

Prosecutor Douglas told the Court that his main goal in this case was to try to get Ms. Stuurmans the guidance and help she needs to turn her life back to a good place for herself and her family.

In commenting on the case, Douglas said: "This was never a case where I envisioned sending Annette Stuurmans to prison. From the very beginning, my goal and the direction of the case from my end was to force her into a position where we could offer some help to get her over this latest problem. No doubt she has done some good things for the community, but i felt we had a duty to Annette Stuurmans, her family and the community to use this case as a lever to compel some needed changes. To her credit, she has responded well so far and we believe this probation will succeed."

In his recommendation to the Court, Prosecutor Douglas said he was asking for a "retained Jurisdiction" sentence (not straight probation) so that Annette Stuurmans could get the order, discipline and programs she needs. The defense was able to point out at sentencing that, voluntarily and on her own at her own cost; Ms. Stuurmans has enrolled in a program and is helping herself.

Douglas also said he did not want the public to be misled by this case. No one need fear filling their necessary and needed prescriptions. That was not the issue and legal prescriptions never result in criminal prosecution. It was only the deception in obtaining a larger amount not written by the doctor that got this person into trouble.