You beating drugs is unlikely, Judge Kobly tells addicted mom

YOUNGSTOWN

Angela Harris says she will beat her heroin addiction, but Judge Elizabeth Kobly said she was not so sure after sentencing her to 180 days in Mahoning County jail on a drug charge and probation violation.

“Ma’am, I think I have a better chance of being a rock star than you do of being clean,” the judge said Tuesday in municipal court.

Judge Kobly sentenced Harris, 35, after Harris pleaded no contest and was found guilty on a charge of possession of a drug-abuse instrument and a probation violation on the same charge.

“I’ve fought this all my life,” Harris said. “That don’t mean I can’t win. I can beat it.”

Harris said she was clean for a period of time when she had a baby. Judge Kobly was aghast that she would have a child while battling a drug addiction, but Harris said she was not on drugs when she was pregnant.

Judge Kobly said she is still setting a bad example for her child by doing drugs.

“Your baby needs its mother,” Judge Kobly said.

Read more about what led her to this in Wednesday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.