Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..

Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low near 60F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph.

Inside Windham Superior Court, Criminal Division in Brattleboro.

Inside Windham Superior Court, Criminal Division in Brattleboro.

BRATTLEBORO — A pregnant woman sentenced for driving under the influence of cocaine could be out of prison before her baby is born.

Shaneika Graves-Trotman, 22, of Brattleboro, pleaded guilty to forging checks and driving under the influence of cocaine in Windham Superior Court, Criminal Division last week. At the time of the offenses, she was under state supervision for trafficking more 3,000 bags or about 80 grams of heroin in Rockingham in 2018. She received a sentence of 90 days to five years.

Janssen Willhoit, Graves-Trotman’s attorney, said he was fortunate to receive an offer from the state pretty quickly for his client and the agreement will allow her to “begin the process of what she needs to do to get out” of prison and move on with her life.

“We can have good time credit be afforded her so she can get out before her child is born,” he said. “And I do have the utmost confidence that this is going to be the wake up call for her ... and we won’t see her back in criminal court again.”

Judge Michael Kainen said the DUI charge involved an incident in May 2020 in Guilford: Graves-Trotman was operating a Toyota Yaris on Guilford Center Road when she crossed the yellow line into oncoming traffic and went off the side of the road.

“Your car traveled approximately 100 yards off the road and hit a tree,” Kainen said. “At the time you were driving the car, you were under the influence and feeling the effects of the drug cocaine. You provided a sample of your blood as evidence. The blood sample was found to contain a metabolite of cocaine.”

Graves-Troman “did not make any attempts to correct her vehicle or maintain her lane,” states an affidavit filed by Vermont State Police Trooper Isabella Corrao. “If the oncoming operator did not make the necessary corrections, damage, serious bodily injury or death could have occurred.”

Kainen said Graves-Trotman presented checks belonging to two different individuals without their permission, one in October 2020 at Brattleboro Savings & Loan and another in December 2021 at 802 Credit Union in Brattleboro. She owes $1,169 to the credit union.

Steven Brown, deputy state’s attorney, said the state no longer believes probation to be “the appropriate level of supervision” for Graves-Trotman.

“Ms. Graves-Trotman significantly delayed this outcome based on her noncompliance in her inability to engage with corrections and the other supervising agencies,” Brown said. “We are glad that this case is finally closed, and she’s taking responsibility.”

Graves-Trotman apologized for the incidents, telling the court she doesn’t want to be made out to be a criminal.

“I don’t plan on living this type of lifestyle,” she said. “What I did is wrong.”

Kainen told Graves-Trotman, “I think that you are a better person than what all these charges reflect. I think that when you are clean and sober, you are a good person. I think that when you’re in the throes of addiction, you’re making really bad judgments. I think that that led to stealing checks, stealing things from people, continuing to have possession charges, driving while you were under the influence. All these things were taking place after you were on supervision for the heroin trafficking.”

Kainen said he doesn’t believe Graves-Trotman had the financial resources to buy 3,000 bags of heroin, which he estimated would be worth about $10,000 in wholesale value.

“I think you were working for someone else. I think you chose not to get that person in trouble,” Kainen said. “I think you were mixed up with the wrong people, and I think that you continued to hang around with people who are not good. And you’re pregnant now. You want a different life for your child.”

In an affidavit, Officer Mario Checchi of the Bellows Falls Police Department described finding a teddy bear with a T-shirt hiding a hole where heroin was being stored. He said Graves-Troman ultimately admitted the drugs came from Massachusetts after lying at first and told him it was fronted to her for selling.

Kainen suggested Graves-Trotman not use drugs while pregnant or after the birth because that would forever affect the child.

“I suspect that you grew up with some influences, which were not ideal, and that those influences are part of what got you into trouble now,” Kainen said. “You don’t want your child to go through life that way with those influences. You’ve got to make a better life for your child.”

Kainen said he thinks a higher level of supervision would be ideal because the lower level hasn’t worked for the past two years.

“You may be on a screening device,” he told Graves-Trotman. “You may be on electronic monitoring. Somebody’s going to be watching you, and I think that’s good for you, because it will keep you away from the bad people and the bad influences in your life, and it will keep you off drugs.”

Chris Mays is a general assignment reporter for the Brattleboro Reformer and Vermont News & Media.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.