Hillsboro woman sentenced to 2 years in Highland County Task Force case
A Hillsboro woman was sentenced Friday to two years in prison after pleading guilty to trafficking drugs in the vicinity of a juvenile.
Alissa Young, 41, of Hillsboro was indicted by a Highland County grand jury in April as part of a Highland County Task Force investigation. She was charged with two counts of aggravated trafficking in methamphetamine in the vicinity of a juvenile, both third-degree felonies; and two counts of aggravated possession of methamphetamine, both fifth-degree felonies.
Young pleaded guilty Friday to both third-degree felony trafficking charges, with the two possession charges dismissed.
The indictment alleged that on or about Oct. 2 and Oct. 15, Young “did knowingly sell or offer to sell meth … in the vicinity of a juvenile.”
As noted by Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Rocky Coss, Young is a previous graduate of the New Way to Recovery Drug Court Docket of the Highland County Common Pleas Court, having successfully completed the program in 2024. At her sentencing Friday, Young thanked the judge for “helping save my life,” to which Coss responded, “I think the jury’s still out on that.
“You’ve been through drug court,” Coss said. “You know what you have to do, and it’s up to you to do that. Even after getting charged here, you’re not doing it, and that’s on you. At some point, the community as well as the court has to look at people like you, and people who do what you do and have done, and say it’s time to pay the piper. You have to be held accountable. You had plenty of opportunities.
“Here you are now, not just using drugs, but selling drugs, and not only selling them, but selling them in front of children.”
Coss sentenced Young to a 12-month prison term on each count, to be served consecutively, for a total of two years in prison. She had five days of jail time credit. Young was also ordered to pay $75 in restitution to the Highland County Task Force.
The plea agreement had recommended 24 months on each count and “judicial release to substance abuse treatment after six months incarceration,” but the judge added that “as long as I’m judge, you’re not going to get judicial release.
“That’s the reason I’m imposing 24 months instead of 48 months, because I don’t think there’s any sense in messing around, letting you come back and just pay lip service,” Coss said. “We’re done babying you. It’s time for you to grow up and do what you need to do.”