3-year sentence

An 18-year-old woman was sentenced to 36 months in prison Thursday after she pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of heroin. Tiella M. Carter, who was 17 at the time of her arrest in December, appeared in Seneca County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Kelbley’s courtroom Thursday afternoon. She waived an indictment and pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony charge of possession of heroin. Carter originally was charged with first-degree felony possession of heroin in Seneca County Juvenile Court. For the first-degree felony charge, she had faced up to 11 years in prison. The maximum penalty for the third-degree felony charge is 36 months. Seneca County Prosecutor Derek DeVine said prosecution has requested Carter be eligible for judicial release after six months and for her to then complete a program at CROSSWAEH. DeVine said Carter, who allegedly had been holding approximately $30,000 worth of heroin for Tyler J. Bustamante, 33, had agreed to testify against Bustamante if his case were to go to trial. Bustamante, however, pleaded guilty Tuesday to more than a dozen charges that included trafficking in heroin, endangering children and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material. He was sentenced by Kelbley to 15 years in prison. DeVine said while Carter should be held responsible for the crime, Bustamante did play a large role in her arrest. “The defendant was the victim of Tyler Bustamante,” DeVine said. “She was groomed and she was taken advantage of starting when she was 14 years old. At some point, she was converted into someone who worked for him and with him. “He drug her down too. Even though he’s not here in the courtroom, he’s responsible because he trained her. Hopefully, she can learn from that and never allow anybody to put her in that spot again.” Kelbley also ordered Carter’s right to a driver’s license be suspended for six months. A mandatory fine of $5,000 was waived Thursday due to Carter’s indigency.