One woman sentenced to prison for drugs, another loses appeal of drug conviction

A La Crosse woman convicted of drug trafficking is headed to federal prison for 5 years. 

Sandy Xiong was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court for possessing more than 50 grams of meth. 

Xiong and her boyfriend were arrested in February of 2020 after allegedly meeting a drug dealer from Prairie du Chien in the parking lot of the Village Shopping Center. 

The couple reportedly possessed at least $7000 worth of meth in their vehicle, and at their home. 

In another area drug case, a state appeals court has upheld the conviction of a Boscobel woman found to be carrying containers of meth during a traffic stop. 

Chelsea Howell claims that she didn’t know that the containers in her purse had meth in them, and said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove she knowingly carried the drug. 

The arrest happened in Crawford County three years ago, and Howell was given probation in the case. 

She had admitted in court to lying to police that there was no marijuana in the car, even though the officer could smell marijuana.