Woman sentenced for drug possession
A woman charged with drug possession and lying to police about her name was sentenced to county prison in Butler County Court on Thursday.
Sanya L. Vantassel, 40, was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in the Butler County Prison, 36 months of county probation and a $100 fine by Judge William Shaffer.
Vantassel previously pleaded guilty to felony criminal use of a communications facility, misdemeanor false reports, unsworn falsification to law enforcement and two counts of possession of a controlled substance before Judge William Shaffer.
She was granted credit for time served, the prison earned time policy and was made work release and community service eligible.
A third case against her was dismissed according to the plea.
Vantassel apologized to the court, saying she will “make better choices in the future.”
The felony communications device, misdemeanor false reports and one controlled substance possession charges stem from an incident on July 14, 2016, in Adams Township.
Police said Vantassel was a passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over on Route 228 for having a brake light out, according to the criminal complaint. Neither the driver nor the passenger had identification on them, and police allegedly found two crack pipes, a container with crack inside, a syringe, three stamp bags and a bundle of heroin stamped with the Toyota logo.
Vantassel gave police a false name, and after she was released, police identified the woman as Vantassel and discovered that she had active warrants in Butler and Allegheny counties.
The unsworn falsification and second possession charges stem from an incident on Jan. 28, 2016, in Butler Township.
Butler Township police said during an investigation of a possible drug overdose at the an area motel, Vantassel provided false information to police, including a bogus name and date of birth.
