Breezetta Etienne already was the focus of a monthslong felony drug investigation when she tried to kill her two children and herself last summer in East Grand Forks, according to new charges filed against her in Polk County District Court last week.
A former physician’s assistant in the Air Force, Etienne last month pleaded guilty to attempted murder and now is charged with illegally selling thousands of prescription weight-loss pills since late 2007.
Etienne, who turns 32 next week, pleaded guilty June 16 to two counts of second-degree attempted murder, reduced from the initial charges, for trying to kill her two young daughters with carbon monoxide inside her vehicle June 22, 2008. She is scheduled to be sentenced in August on those charges and is free on bail. :mad5:
On June 30 in Crookston, she was charged with 19 felony counts of fifth-degree selling of a controlled substance. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, based on an investigation dating to November 2007.
According to the court complaint, from March 30, 2007, to July 22, 2008, she received shipments totaling 25,000 phentermine pills, usually in 1,000-pill shipments. That total was more than all the pharmacies in Polk County sold during the same period, investigators say.
In late 2007, Etienne was a physician’s assistant with the 319th Medical Operations Squadron at Grand Forks (N.D.) Air Force Base when the Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations opened an investigation into whether she was selling phentermine illegally.
Phentermine is an amphetaminelike appetite-suppressing drug used for weight loss and is in the general class of stimulants, or “uppers.”
Based on the court document, the high number of pills she was handling apparently brought Etienne to the attention of authorities.
Etienne is the sister of Moe Gibbs, who was convicted of killing a New Salem, N.D., woman in Valley City.
Polk County Attorney Greg Widseth plans to seek an “aggravated” or longer-than-typical sentence in the case because Etienne “is not amenable to probation and/or the offense is more serious than the typical offense.”
In related news, on June 18 Etienne also filed for bankruptcy for her business known as EZ Breezy Weightloss and Wellness, 1112 S. University Drive in Fargo. Filing for Chapter 7, she listed $303,002 in debts and $85.34 in assets.