Rowlett grandmother pleads guilty to selling ‘cheese’ heroin

 

Rowlett grandmother Barbara Blanton Sims pled guilty Tuesday to a federal charge of drug possession with intent to distribute after being accused of selling cheese heroin out of her home in Rowlett.

The 60-year-old woman could be sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined $2 million. Her sentencing is scheduled Dec. 28.

Click here to read the whole story in TheRockwallNews.com.

Arrest of Barbara Sims for cheese heroin possession poses important questions

Now that Rowlett grandmother Barbara Sims has been arrested for intent to deliver a large quantity of cheese heroin and was identified by police as a “high-level drug dealer,” it poses several questions to leaders and residents of Rowlett.

While she’s out on bail and the investigation continues,  should pressure be mounted to require her to sell her home and move immediately?

As my wife said, she’ll probably just set up her alleged manufacturing operation somewhere else anyway, now that she’s been released.

If I lived in the 6500 block of Fairfield Dr. I would be particularly irate to have someone so labeled living amongst my neighbors.

What can or should they do?

What should residents of Rowlett do?

In Rockwall, where I live, one of the major news stories this past week has been the case of Tim Salahi and Paige Elliot, who died from using the very same drug which Sims is suspected to have manufactured.

I don’t want someone like her anywhere near Rockwall or Rowlett.

No doubt, everyone deserves his or her day in court, but considering all that was found in Sims home, there’s a very strong likelihood that she is in fact a “high-level drug dealer” and should be forced to leave our area.

What do you think? How can we do it?

Grandmother arrested in largest heroin bust in Rowlett’s history

Barbara Sims of Rowlett

A 60-year-old Rowlett grandmother was arrested Feb.  11  in the largest heroin bust in Rowlett’s history after police found 3,343 doses of “cheese” heroin in her home, with a street value of $33,450.

Barbara Sims, 60, was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance in a drug-free zone.

The Rowlett Police Department, Drug Enforcement Agency, and Dallas County constables executed a search warrant that turned up 9 ounces of Mexican black tar heroin worth $25,250, 16 grams of cheese heroin valued at $2,286, two assault rifles, a semi-automatic machine pistol, and more than $1,000 in counterfeit U.S. currency.

Her home in the 6500 block of Fairfield Dr. is also across the street from a city park, which is considered a drug-free zone.

Police said they suspect she had manufactured them in her home and was planning to distribute the drugs across Dallas.

“Simms was a high-level drug dealer,” said Rowlett police Lt. David Nabors. “It was a manufacturing operation.”

“We found no indication it was being sold in our city. It was to be distributed in Dallas.”

He said the investigation began with a tip and proceeded quickly.

“On an investigation like this, it’s important to proceed fast because the potential for somebody to die is high.”

Nabors added that Simms could also face federal weapons charges. Police confiscated three loaded weapons, including an AK-47, and counterfeit cash.

They also found a Rolls-Royce, a Mercedes-Benz, a Jaguar and a Cadillac Escalade on the property.

Sims was released from jail Feb. 13 after posting a $100,000 bond.

Her daughter and grand-daughter also lived in the home, but Rowlett Police Department Public Information Officer John Ellison said they are not expected to face charges.

He said that the case is still under investigation.

Dozens of teens and young adults have died as a result of using cheese in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since the lethal mix was first reported on Dallas public school campuses in 2005.

Only two years in jail for Salahi for providing “cheese” heroin which killed Paige Elliot?

Paige Elliot (center) pictured with friends on the Paiges Memory Space page at My Space.com

Rockwall High School sophomore Paige Elliot’s death in 2007, due to an overdose of cheese heroin, was a terrible tragedy.

But it seems another one is that 19-year-old Timothy Salahi will only have to spend two years or less in jail and pay a fine as punishment for furnishing the drug.

True, she did choose to take the cheese, Xanax, marijuana, cocaine and Ecstacy found in her body during the autopsy.

But she was only a 16-year-old kid, who just three years before had suffered the breakup of her family due to divorce.

Consequently, this young lady was not healthy emotionally, and Salahi – although young himself – certainly knew better. It seems to me that Salahi preyed on her, taking advantage of her weaknesses.

If we truly want to send a message to drug dealers, and want to stop the distribution of cheese, shouldn’ t we adults figure out a way to punish drug dealers with more than two years in jail?

He’ll likely not even serve that long and be back on the streets.

Somebody needs to make sure Salahi never touches drugs again. Wonder if he has any younger brothers and sisters whom he’s influenced? What do his parents have to say?

The whole story obviously still hasn’t been told, but clearly needs to be.

Rockwall teen pleads guilty in Rockwall High School girl’s “cheese” overdose death

Paige Elliot (left) pictured with a friend on Paiges Memory Space at MySpace.com

Nineteen-year-old Timothy Salahi from Rockwall plead guilty yesterday to criminally negligent homicide in the “cheese” heroin overdose death of 16-year-old Rockwall High School student Paige Elliot in 2007.

Salahi entered his plea in the Rockwall felony court of District Judge Brett Hall at the County Courthouse.

The charge against Salahi is a state jail felony punishable by six months to two years imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000.

According to police, Salahi bought cheese heroin and Xanax for Elliot in September 2007, and the pair went to his house in the 1400 block of Greenbrook Drive in Rockwall.

Salahi later found the girl unconscious on his sofa.  She was pronounced dead at Lake Pointe Medical Center.

Toxicology tests revealed a fatal cocktail of cheese heroin, Ecstasy, Xanax, cocaine and marijuana in her system.

Judge Hall ordered a pre-sentencing investigation and scheduled sentencing for Feb. 17.

Victim impact statements may be heard at that time.