Austin woman gets jail time and 20 years probation
Published 7:58 am Tuesday, July 18, 2017
An Austin woman with several drug charges will serve jail time and probation.

Thania Sanchez, 24
Thania Sanchez, 24, was sentenced to 20 years of probation for felony third-degree drug possession in Mower County District Court Monday afternoon.
She received a stayed sentence of one year in jail, for which she must concurrently serve two years of probation, for misdemeanor fifth-degree drug possession.
She must follow 30 conditions while on probation.
She received a third sentence of 90 days in jail for gross misdemeanor fourth-degree DWI, receiving credit for 61 days served.
Charges of felony storing methamphetamine paraphernalia in the presence of a child, gross misdemeanor counterfeiting currency, gross misdemeanor third-degree DWI and misdemeanor driving after revocation of her license were dismissed as part of a plea deal.
Sanchez was arrested on April 5 while Austin police and Mower County sheriff’s deputies were executing a search warrant on her residence in the 200 block of 11th Avenue Northwest.
According to the court report, a detective approached a 2003 Ford Explorer and saw Sanchez in the passenger seat and Rocky Don Phathaem, 29, in the driver seat.
The detective saw methamphetamines on the seat and floor of the passenger side of the car, and Sanchez appeared to have meth on her pants and slippers. That caused the detective to believe she had dumped the meth when she saw him approaching. Phatheam and Sanchez were both arrested.
Facebook messages exchanged between the two showed Phatheam was selling meth to Sanchez. Phatheam eventually told police he had purchased the meth and they were splitting it.
Police also found money, a small amount of meth and several items related to meth in the vehicle and Sanchez’s residence.
Sanchez was arrested again on May 8 after police found drugs in her vehicle.
According to the court report, Sanchez requested help from an Adams police officer after her car ran out of gas on the 400 block of Bergen Street. She told the officer her cell phone battery was dead, so the officer allowed her to sit in his squad car while he charged her phone.
Sanchez told the officer she did not have a valid license and walked back to her vehicle to call a relative or a taxi for a ride. She left her charger with the officer, who went to return it and noticed Sanchez’s vehicle did not have a front license.
The officer ran the back license, which came back as expired out of Hennepin County. The tab matched a different vehicle out of Cottonwood County.
Soon the Mower County Sheriff’s Office became involved in the incident. Sanchez showed signs of being on drugs, but refused DWI testing.
About 14.5 grams was found in her car, but Sanchez still refused to submit to testing.
Sanchez also pleaded not guilty to a charge of felony third-degree drug sales in Mower County District Court Monday morning. The charge stems from an incident on March 27 during which Sanchez allegedly sold approximately one gram of methamphetamine to a police informant. That case is scheduled to go to trial in December.
—Jason Schoonover contributed to this article.