2 get probation for possessing meth ingredients

YOUNGSTOWN -- An Akron woman and her friend have been placed on probation for two years for possessing ingredients to make drugs.
Judge Maureen A. Cronin of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court sentenced Lori K. Nichols, 40, of Hartville, and Kellie A. Spears, 43, of West Waterloo Road at a Thursday hearing. Both pleaded guilty in December to illegal assembly and possession of chemicals for the manufacture of drugs with a forfeiture specification.
Austintown police arrested Nichols and Spears last April near Interstate 80 and state Route 46. Police said Nichols was driving under suspension.
Found in car
Fourteen boxes of over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines were found in their vehicle, along with other items used in making crystal methamphetamine, said Steven Shandor, an assistant county prosecutor. Crystal meth is a stimulant that's derived from pseudoephedrine, an ingredient found in cold medicines.
Nichols said she and Spears were driving to Cook Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania to go camping with friends, but headed home when they couldn't find the cabin.
Atty. Don L. Hanni Jr., representing Spears, said the women used a restroom at an Austintown truck stop, then bought some cold tablets and other items.
Receipts in the car indicated the women had been buying cold medicines at various truck stops, Shandor said.
Nichols and Spears also had cash totaling $4,983, which they forfeited.