Brandy Rochelle Hughes of Mountain Home, who faced a long string of criminal charges committed either separately or with co-defendant David Fiss, entered a guilty plea to those charges during a session of Baxter County Circuit Court Thursday.
She was sentenced to 15 years probation.
Together, the 28-year-old Fiss and 29-year-old Hughes were charged with about 60 counts in criminal cases alleging the theft of a wide variety of items from a number of locations, including vehicles, a 5,000-watt generator, utility trailers, a SeaDoo personal watercraft, weapons and personal checks.
At one point, Hughes and Fiss were accused of breaking into the same house — twice.
During Hughes’ sentencing Thursday, 14th Judicial District Deputy Prosecutor Kerry Chism said the couple’s crimes “are many. This was a spree.”
Hughes has been enrolled in a local addiction treatment program. Circuit Judge John Putman told Hughes she had certainly committed a sufficient number of crimes to be sent to prison, but was being given an opportunity to change her life.
As the list of charges was recited, Hughes seemed to want to tell the court she was not directly responsible for the crimes, but had simply been with Fiss during the commission of the thefts and other crimes.
Hughes’ attorney, Public Defender Andrew Bailey, told the court he had explained co-defendant liability to his client and made clear she was just as guilty as Fiss in that she was a willing participant in the various crimes.
In addition to being put on probation, Hughes was ordered to pay restitution to the various victims of at least $5,839. Generally, Fiss would be expected to share in the liability for the restitution.
Fiss was sentenced to 10 years in prison in May. He is an inmate in the Ouachita River Unit of the state prison system.
At one point, Fiss had been booked into the Baxter County jail 22 times since 2007 and Hughes 14 times since 2009, according to the Baxter County Sheriff’s Office.
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