DRUG-LACED BROWNIES FELONY GARNERS 4 YEARS IN PRISON

GOSHEN -- Susanna Cole, the woman convicted of baking marijuana-laced
brownies that made 11 Elkhart firefighters ill, was sentenced Thursday in
Elkhart Circuit Court to four years in prison.

Cole was given the maximum possible sentence by Circuit Judge Terry
Shewmaker, who said her actions threatened every citizen who depends on the
fire department for protection.

"You, Mrs. Cole, apparently believe this was intended to be a joke,"
Shewmaker said. "In fact, this was a crime with potentially serious
consequences."

Cole was convicted on two felony counts of battery on firefighters and two
misdemeanor counts of criminal recklessness for sending brownies laced with
hash oil to Elkhart's Central fire station last December. She alternately
wept and fought back tears during much of the sentencing hearing, and asked
the judge for leniency so she could raise her 14-year old daughter.

"I am more of an asset to everyone if I am on the outside rather than in,"
she said.

Her lawyer, Jim Stevens, noted that Cole owns a home and her own business,
and has no significant criminal record.

But what she did was so serious that those things didn't matter, said
deputy prosecutor Vicki Becker.

By incapacitating 11 firefighters, almost one-third of the shift, Cole
endangered the entire city of Elkhart, Becker said.

"There is a huge level of trust (involved with the fire department) and
that trust was breached by the actions of the defendant," she said. "So
many people were put at risk by this."

Fire Chief Jerry Vaughn testified that one paramedic went out on a run
while under the influence of the drugs.

"It could have been critical to a patient," he said.

These factors, and Cole's seeming lack of remorse, weighed heavily against
her, Shewmaker said. Another more subtle factor was the terrorist attacks
of Sept. 11, and the renewed level of respect for firefighters, he said.

"These issues are different in normal times," he said. "But we cannot
decide these issues in a vacuum."

Cole was convicted by a jury on Sept. 27 after a three-day trial. She has
30 days to appeal the sentence, and said she has not yet decided if she will.

During the trial, the prosecution suggested Cole sent the brownies to get
back at department officials who were investigating a friend who was a
firefighter.