(PCSD file photos)
By Patti Weaver
(Stillwater, Okla.) — A Drumright woman, who was arrested with a Drumright man by Cushing Police Officer Jason Beal, has avoided a jury trial in Payne County on Jan. 9 by pleading guilty to trafficking methamphetamine in Cushing.
Patricia A. Gonzalis, 53, accepted a plea bargain on Dec. 19, 2023, for a 10-year prison term from Associate District Judge Michael Kulling, who said he would suspend the balance of her sentence on completion of a drug treatment program, court records show.
Gonzalis and Michael Steven Hall, 67, who are both ex-convicts, had been arrested on Jan. 16, 2023, at 9:18 pm by the Cushing officer following a traffic stop in a restaurant parking lot, court records show.
Hall also pleaded guilty on Dec. 19, 2023, to trafficking methamphetamine in Cushing; his sentencing on the Payne County charge was stayed by Judge Kulling until March 19 — so that Hall could complete a Creek County program on a four-count charge of trafficking methamphetamine and marijuana, being a felon in possession of a revolver, illegally using a cell phone in the commission of drug trafficking and possessing drug paraphernalia on Jan. 9, 2023, in Drumright, on which he has been scheduled to appear in court this week in Sapulpa.
About 30 minutes before the pair were arrested, the Cushing police officer had been notified by Payne County Sheriff’s Investigator Brandon Myers that Hall had an outstanding arrest warrant from Creek County and was possibly at the Cushing Walmart, an affidavit said.
While the Cushing officer was traveling on E. Main Street in Cushing, he spotted Hall driving his vehicle with Gonzalis as a passenger, the affidavit said.
Hall was arrested on a bench warrant for failing to appear in court on Jan. 12, 2023, on a Creek County charge of possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute, maintaining an apartment in Drumright for keeping and selling a drug, and also having drug paraphernalia, all in 2019, court records show.
Gonzalis was arrested on an outstanding warrant from Grant County for drug possession in 2007, an affidavit said.
“Before placing her in handcuffs, I instructed her to place anything she had in her possession on the hood of the car. As she placed various items on the hood, she pulled out a bag with a crystal-like substance and what I recognized as a glass-smoking pipe from her pocket,” the Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit.
“She turned to me and stated, ‘here, I have a pipe.’ I advised her it was ok and to place it onto the hood. Gonzalis became hesitant, and I advised if she had anything else, it would be better to be discovered before she went into the jail, as the charges would be different.
“Patricia advised she did have something given to her by Hall, but it was in her (breast), and she was not wearing a bra. She advised she did not know what it was. She retrieved a package wrapped in black tape, as well as a separate bag containing a crystal-like substance. I recognized the substance as methamphetamine,” the Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit.
While conducting a vehicle inventory, “I located a purple bag containing a bag with a crystal-like substance and a small glass jar with a crystal-like substance. I recognized the substance as methamphetamine. I also found a plastic container with multiple small empty plastic bags,” the Cushing officer wrote in his affidavit.
“Inside the ball of black tape were two bags with a crystal-like substance. In total, there were seven different containers with a crystal-like substance measuring 71.3 grams in total. There were 25 small empty plastic baggies and a glass smoking pipe,” the affidavit said.
According to the state Department of Corrections, Hall has an extensive record of drug convictions dating back to 1995; he was last released from prison in 2017 after serving eight months of a three-year sentence for drug possession in Drumright in 2015.
Gonzalis also has an extensive record of drug convictions dating back to 1994 in Creek County; she was last released from prison in 2018 after serving 15 months of a five-year sentence for drug possession with intent to distribute in Tulsa County in 2017, DOC records show.
