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WARREN -- A Youngstown woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to a charge of possession of a fentanyl-related compound.
Shayla DeMar, 29, of Ridgelawn Avenue, received a three-year probation that includes a stint in the Northeast Ohio Community Alternative Program, which is a rehabilitation program that teaches basic life skills.
DeMar was before Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Cynthia Rice -- who told the defendant she was being given a break and that she'd better take advantage of it or else face some prison time.
DeMar also was convicted earlier in 2022 on a trespass into a habitation charge connected to a May 21, 2021, break-in in Liberty. Prosecutors said DeMar's drug case also stemmed a the same incident.
Rice also gave DeMar three years probation for the trespass offense, which will be served at the same time. Both of DeMar's convictions carry maximum 12-month prison sentences.
The woman's attorney, Kristin Maxwell, said her client has undergone extraordinary circumstances, including being a victim of a kidnapping and putting herself through college. Maxwell said DeMar gave up custody of her child as she was going through her legal troubles.
"She has a dream of getting a master's degree," Maxwell said about DeMar's ambitions.