MCKINNEY, Texas - A McKinney mother has been given 35 years behind bars after pleading guilty to drug charges.
Monica Gonzales spent time in prison for two previous drug convictions in 2016 and 2020.
This latest case goes back to May 30, 2023, when McKinney police were taking part in a covert narcotics investigation at a Super 8 Motel.
A detective reported seeing a vehicle involved in a hand-to-hand drug deal, and as the detective was following that vehicle, he called another officer to pull it over after seeing a traffic violation.
As the officer got near the vehicle, they "immediately noticed the strong odor of marijuana."
Suicidal man who threatened to kill his wife shot by officers, McKinney police say
McKinney police say they shot and injured a gunman during a shootout at an apartment complex. They say before officers confronted him, he had already fired his gun, threatened to kill his wife and was suicidal.
Gonzales was a passenger in the vehicle. She gave the officer a small bag of marijuana, before giving the officer two bags of methamphetamine when the officer asked if she had any other drugs on her.
The bags had 34.9 grams of methamphetamine, which authorities said was more than 170 doses of the drug.
During testimony as part of the sentencing, an officer told the jury about an incident two weeks before her arrest, when she was in a car with her 15-year-old son, and he was found with 52 grams of methamphetamine in multiple baggies.
After hearing of her "lengthy" criminal history and other testimony, the jury sentenced Gonzales to 35 years in prison.