Mason City woman pleads guilty to Franklin County meth charge

HAMPTON — A Mason City woman accused of a methamphetamine related charge has entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in a criminal complaint states that a deputy pulled up behind a vehicle parked on the shoulder of the road with its hazard lights on in the 300 block of State Highway 3 in Coulter at about 11:45 on the night of August 5th. The deputy says he immediately observed nervous behavior from the driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old Jeffrey Kiefer of Belmond, while the passenger, 19-year-old Sarina Burgin of Mason City, was sitting back in her seat in an attempt to hide so the deputy would not recognize her.

The complaint says Kiefer gave consent to use the deputy’s K-9 unit for an open air sniff of the vehicle, which resulted in an alert. A backpack on the passenger floorboard allegedly contained a substance when field tested was positive for seven grams of methamphetamine.

Burgin and Kiefer were each charged with possession of meth with the intent to deliver, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. Charges against Kiefer were dismissed in September. Burgin’s trial was scheduled to start on December 2nd, but late last week she filed a written plea of guilty to a Class C felony-level charge of possession with the intent to deliver meth. According to terms of the plea deal, prosecutors will recommend a suspended ten year prison sentence and five years of probation. A plea change hearing has been scheduled for December 11th.

Burgin also was facing charges in Cerro Gordo County of ongoing criminal conduct and possession of meth after being charged on June 30th with using a stolen credit card six times in late May to purchase merchandise totaling $1278. She recently pleaded guilty to an amended charge of credit card fraud, an aggravated misdemeanor. As part of a plea agreement, she was sentenced to a year in jail with all but 60 days suspended, with credit for time served.