Sculley
While a Brownstown woman was given a chance to stay out of prison last winter, it appears Tiffany Marie Sculley may have already forfeited her freedom.
Sculley, 36, pleaded guilty on Jan. 22 in Bartholomew Superior Court 1 to aiding, inducing or causing the dealing of a narcotic drug as a Level 5 felony. She was charged in connection with the July 8, 2022 overdose death of Ronald Lee Smith, 37, of Columbus.
While Judge James Worton handed down an advisory term of three years in prison, he also suspended the sentence. The judge stipulated that Sculley serve her first year of probation in a community corrections program.
Several mitigating factors that worked in Sculley’s favor include no criminal history, pleading guilty as charged, accepting responsibility for her part in Smith’s death, and expressing what appeared to be genuine remorse, Worton said. In addition, a pre-sentence investigation stated Sculley was a low risk to commit a similar crime.
The judge also noted that Sculley, who has a history of addiction, has avoided drug use for several months, and was not the person who actually purchased drugs in Louisville that led to Smith’s death.
Investigators stated it was co-defendant Ryan Self who obtained the narcotics and supplied the victim, while Sculley was only accused of driving her co-defendant and the victim to Louisville, according to a probable cause affidavit.
But on March 19, a petition to revoke Sculley’s probation was filed in Worton’s court after she was charged in Jackson County with domestic battery as a Class A misdemeanor, the affidavit states.
In June, Worton agreed to wait until the Jackson County case were resolved before scheduled a revocation of probation hearing. But then, a second case was filed in Brownstown on Sept. 24 that charged Sculley with misdemeanor charges of theft and criminal mischief, online court records state
An amended petition to revoke Sculley’s probation was filed in Bartholomew County. Worton’s court received word on Oct. 31 that Sculley was being held in the Bartholomew County Jail, with bond set at $50,000 or 10% cash.
While behind bars in Columbus, Sculley missed a Nov. 21 bench trial before Jackson Superior Court Judge AmyMarie Travis, which resulted in an arrest warrant being issued by Travis for failure to appear in court.
Sculley wrote Travis from the Bartholomew County Jail on Dec. 2 to ask that the arrest warrant be revoked, but the Brownstown judge refused her request the next day.
During a Dec. 6 hearing, Worton denied a bond reduction request from Sculley. Following a fact-finding hearing on Dec. 11, Worton is expected to formally announce a decision regarding the petition to revoke probation later this month.
No further court dates are currently scheduled in either Jackson or Bartholomew County for Sculley, who remains in the Bartholomew County Jail.
Self is scheduled to be sentenced by Worton at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 8. Earlier this month, Self accepted a plea bargain that allowed him to plead guilty to dealing in a narcotic drug as a Level 5 felony.
