ML woman sentenced in EBT-drug scheme

A Moses Lake woman has been sentenced to just over a year in prison after pleading guilty to three elements of an alleged scheme to trade drugs for EBT cards, having avoided over a dozen other charges recommended by investigators.

Sonda Safford, 43, pleaded guilty in two separate cases to possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver, possession of cocaine and possession of methamphetamine stemming from two arrests last year.

Though she was sentenced to a year and a day in one case and six months in the latter, the sentence for both cases was made concurrent.

The first case stems from a March 13 arrest, after Moses Lake police were reportedly tipped off that Safford was trading drugs for EBT cards.

After a six-hour raid involving more than a half-dozen officers, police recovered over an ounce of meth, over an ounce of powder cocaine, lesser quantities of heroin and crack cocaine, 19 Suboxone strips and hundreds of illegally possessed prescription pills. Police also recovered nine EBT cards which did not belong to Safford or other residents of her home.

After the March arrest of Sonda Safford, 43, on suspicion of trading drugs for EBT cards, investigators recommended charges for five counts of food stamp trafficking, possession of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and marijuana with intent to deliver, and over a dozen other charges related to theft and possession of stolen property.

Investigators also recommended the drug related charges be brought with aggravators, given that Safford’s residence is within a school zone.

Instead of facing time for dozens of charges, however, Safford took a deal with Grant County prosecutors, agreeing to plead guilty to one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. Safford was sentenced to a year and a day for this case earlier this week.

But, only two weeks after pleading guilty to the March case and while awaiting sentencing, Safford was arrested following a traffic stop and once again found in possession of a variety of drugs, cash, and EBT cards.

“Literally the same crime...,” an officer wrote in their report.

Once again, Safford faced few of the charges recommended by investigators. Instead, she faced two possession charges, one each for cocaine and methamphetamine, and sentenced to six months in jail.