A Buchanan woman will spend the next two years under supervision by Cass County authorities after stealing prescription painkillers from a Dowagiac pharmacy.

Judge Michael Dodge sentenced 36-year-old Jennifer Lynn French to two years of probation Friday morning in Cass County Court, on charges of possession of analogues and larceny under $200. Dodge also sentenced the woman to 30 days in jail, though he agreed to suspend the sentence provided she comply the conditions with her probation.

French pleaded guilty to the counts on July 29.

The charges against the Buchanan woman stem from her time working in the pharmacy department of the Dowagiac Rite Aid located on State Road, from April 28 to May 11. During that period, French stole some Norco (hydrocodone) pills from the store, Dodge said.

When asked by the judge in court, French said that she had only taken a single bottle during her time at the pharmacy, containing around 100 pills, she said. In addition to using them herself, she gave some to a friend who was undergoing chemotherapy at the time.

While French only had a single misdemeanor on her prior record, which she was convicted for in 2008, that charge was also related to her abusing controlled substances, Dodge said.

“That sends up some significant warning signals,” the judge said.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor Frank Machnik said that the similar circumstances between the two offenses “set off some alarms” for him as well.

Given her prior conviction, the prosecutor asked Dodge to consider giving French added jail time for her most recent offense.

“If she keeps going down this path, there is a prison sentence in her future,” Machnik said.

French’s attorney, James Miller, said that the judge should accept the probation department’s recommendation for a straight probation sentence. He also told the court that his client had not committed any offenses since her 2008 conviction and that she had only recently “fallen off the wagon” in recovering from her addiction to prescription drugs.

Dodge agreed with the defense’s and probation department’s recommendation for no additional jail time, saying that community supervision would help ensure she kick her addiction to painkillers once and for all.

Also sentenced Friday:

• Christopher Paul Ramsey, 51, of Vandalia, to court costs and fines for delivery/manufacture of marijuana.

• Anne Kristine Fisette, 27, of Edwardsburg, to two years of probation for methamphetamine-related charges.

• Dustin Dean McNeil, 19, of Dowagiac, to 18 months of probation for attempting to carry a concealed weapon.

• Roberto Ramiro Reyna, 23, of Dowagiac, to two years of probation and 90 days on tether for methamphetamine and marijuana related charges.