By Patti Weaver

 

    (Stillwater, Okla.) — A 38-year-old Stillwater woman with alcohol, drug and child endangerment convictions has been given a 10-year prison term for trafficking fentanyl — to begin serving after completing nine years’ incarceration that she was given for violating her probation in a firearm possession case.
    Kelsey Nicole Black, who was arrested with two others at her apartment in 2022, was sentenced last week after pleading guilty to District Judge Phillip Corley.
    When Black’s residence was searched on a warrant, officers found 31 fentanyl pills along with one gram of methamphetamine and seven oxycodone pills on Sept. 14, 2022, Stillwater Police Detective Josh Carson alleged in an affidavit.
    Her partner, Blake Paul Cheramie, 38, of Stillwater, who was living at the apartment, was also arrested and charged with drug trafficking, but the case against him was dismissed on March 28, 2023, by the prosecution — a month after he was given a two-year prison term for unauthorized use of a vehicle, court records show.
    Detective Carson, who traveled to the apartment with the Stillwater Police Department’s Special Projects Unit, wrote in an affidavit, “As I entered, I immediately noticed a female lying on the couch that appeared unconscious. I recognized the female as Maya Prather. I know Maya is a heavy opioid user, so I started to get my Narcan nasal spray to apply in her nose.
    “I was able to get Maya to wake up. As she stood, I noticed a square piece of tin foil and a lighter in her lap. These items are commonly called ‘hot rails,"” an opiate pill or heroin put on foil, heated and inhaled through a straw, the detective alleged in his affidavit. Black had opened the door and Cheramie was found hiding in the bathroom, the affidavit alleged.
    “I know all three to be actively selling drugs in the Stillwater area. I observed ‘hot rails’ on the kitchen counter, and on the living room coffee table as well as the cabinet beneath the television. I observed a glass methamphetamine pipe with residue sitting on the coffee table as well. These items were all within reach of the toddler,” who tested positive for amphetamine, the detective alleged in his affidavit.
    “Detective McSpadden held the child as I told Blake, Maya and Kelsey they were all under arrest for the drug paraphernalia inside the house,” Detective Carson wrote in his affidavit.
    “I found 28 blue pills with the imprint M30 on them,” with ragged imprints and inconsistent coloring. From my training, I know these pills are pressed Fentanyl pills that are homemade to look like OxyContin pills. Several of the pills were prepackaged for sale in 1×1 zip top baggies.
    “I also found seven 10 mg Oxycodone pills that were prepackaged for sales; .3 grams of heroin was located in a tied baggy. These items were found near the recliner in the living room inside a purse with Kelsey Black’s identification on it.
    “I also found $250 in a ‘dealer wad’ inside Kelsey’s wallet,” and one gram of methamphetamine inside a prescription container with her name printed on the outside, the detective alleged in his affidavit. “I found several M30 pressed fentanyl pills on the coffee table in front of where Maya Prather was found on the couch along with the methamphetamine pipe.
    “I found ‘hot rail’ foil inside the diaper bag of the juvenile child,” who was taken into custody by the Payne County Department of Human Services, the detective alleged in his affidavit.
    “Kelsey told me Blake has been actively selling fentanyl pills. Kelsey stated Maya came to their house the night before with the baby covered in feces. Kelsey stated the drugs belonged to Maya and Blake, and she was taking care of the baby.
    “Maya told me she came to Kelsey’s house with her baby. Maya told me Kelsey sold her a pill, and she smoked it the night before. Maya stated Blake and Kelsey were responsible for selling pills. I was later contacted by DHS and advised the juvenile found in the home tested positive for amphetamines,” the detective alleged in his affidavit.
    According to court records, Maya Diego Prather, now 26, of Stillwater, who has a record of drug and illegal gun possession, pleaded guilty to neglecting her 20-month-old baby on Sept. 14, 2022, and possessing fentanyl. Last July, she was sentenced to five years in prison for child neglect with a concurrent one year in jail for drug possession. Prather also pleaded guilty to possessing oxycodone with intent to distribute on Aug. 5, 2022, for which she was given a concurrent five-year prison term in July.