Virginia woman sentenced to 35 years in prison for drug trafficking

Courtesy of the 22nd District Attorney's Office

Precious Hicks, 32, of Virginia, was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday after being found guilty of drug trafficking. Hicks was arrested in January 2023 after she and her boyfriend were stopped on I-12. St. Tammany Parish Assistant District Attorney Tiffany Dover said highway patrol found open marijuana and several boxes of Fruity Pebbles cereal…

“They were able to search the vehicle and found 7,886 pills in the cereal boxes that at the time appeared to be MDMA or ecstasy pills.”

Inside the cereal boxes were nearly 8,000 methamphetamine pills weighing over 4 pounds. During an official police interview, Hicks and her boyfriend admitted they had bought the pills in Texas to resell them in Virginia. Dover says that's what the Highway Enforcement Unit is for…

“Because I-12 and I-10 are major smuggling corridors, people from out of state come to Texas, which is closer to the Mexican border, to buy drugs.”

Hicks' boyfriend pleaded guilty before trial and, despite having no prior convictions, received a suspended sentence. Dover says the judge took into account Hicks' prior convictions for firearms possession, assault, theft, fraud, forgery, drug offenses and prostitution when imposing the 35-year sentence…

“Ms. Hicks had an extensive criminal history. She had multiple convictions in the state of Texas and the state of Virginia. She also had a criminal history in the state of Virginia.”