thedailytimes.com : Your 24/7 news source

Maryville real estate agent Karla Sells-Gourley agreed to a 10-year sentence on three counts of prescription fraud Monday in a Blount County Circuit Court hearing. The manner in which the sentence will be served will be determined in August.

According to documents filed in Blount County Circuit Court, Karla Melinda Sells-Gourley, also known as Karla Roy, was charged with obtaining Hydrocodone, a Schedule III controlled substance, on three different occasions “by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge.”

Sells-Gourley, 34, Inverness Drive, Maryville, obtained the drugs on March 15, 2008, April 23, 2008, and May 29, 2008, in Blount County, according to information filed in the court.

In open court, Sells-Gourley waived prosecution by indictment or presentment and agreed to plead to criminal information. She also waived trial by jury and an appeal, and entered guilty pleas on three counts of prescription fraud, Class D felonies.

According to court documents, Sells-Gourley agreed to a 10-year sentence on each charge, all to be served concurrently. She will be sentenced as a Range III offender, and according to Tennessee Code Annotated, a Range III Offender has five or more prior felony convictions. She is required to pay a $500 fine.

Sells-Gourley must appear in Blount County Circuit Court on Aug. 31 to determine the manner in which her sentence will be served. Part of the agreement between the state and Sells-Gourley is that she will participate in the Blount County Drug Court program while in the Blount County Jail. Maryville attorney Joe Costner represented her on the criminal cases.

Sells-Gourley was taken into custody following the Circuit Court hearing, and was held without bond pending the sentencing hearing.