The Cherry Street couple who admitted possessing and cooking crystal methamphetamine and endangering their two small daughters will spend up to 30 years in jail.

Charles Dudley White, 27, and Bethany White, 25, stood before Circuit Judge M. James Chaney for sentencing this morning. Dudley White stood without expression. Bethany White closed her eyes and lifted her face, appearing as if the life was being sucked out of her.

Scroll down to view a video of the sentencing

The sentences

Charles Dudley White:

• Possession of precursor chemicals with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine: 25 years with eight suspended, fined $50,000 with $20,000 suspended.

• Possession of crystal methamphetamine: Six years, fined $5,000.

• Child endangerment: 10 years, two suspended, fined $5,000.

Bethany White:

• Possession of precursor chemicals with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine: 25 years with eight suspended, fined $50,000 with $20,000 suspended.

• Possession of crystal methamphetamine: Six years, fined $5,000.

• Child endangerment: 10 years, four suspended, fined $5,000.

She was given a net total of 29 years in prison plus $40,000 in fines. Dudley White received 31 years and also was fined $40,000.

Both were ordered to undergo intensive drug and alcohol therapy, pay restitution and various court costs and be on probation for five years after their release.

“We’re very happy with the sentences handed down by the court,” said District Attorney Ricky Smith. “I think it does send a message that we are not going to tolerate the distribution of crystal methamphetamine and child endangerment in the process of getting that methamphetamine ready to be distributed. I think the court sent a solid message.”

The Whites can expect to serve the majority of their prison time before being considered for parole, Smith said.

But Jerry Campbell, attorney for Bethany White, said his reading of the statutes indicates she could be eligible for parole after serving 25 percent of her sentence. “She can use those six or seven years to get straightened out,” Campbell said.

Family members of both Dudley and Bethany White sobbed as the sentences were read and afterward spoke briefly with James “Buck” Penley, Dudley White’s attorney.

Charles and Kay White, Dudley White’s parents, and Becky Lindsey, Bethany White’s aunt, said they felt the sentences were “very unfair,” and that the couple was “singled out because of the Cherry Street location” of the house where the meth cooking occurred. “Location, location, location,” Charles White said. The house is in a midtown residential area, mostly occupied by middle income households and retirees.

“They used this to make a big statement,” said Kay White. “My grandchildren were with us the majority of the time and were never in danger.”

Lindsey and the elder Whites, who are caring for the couple’s children, said Dudley and Bethany White needed drug rehabilitation, not long prison sentences. They said it would be difficult to explain to the children where their parents were.

“That’s going to be a big thing,” Kay White said. “I don’t know how I’m going to tell them.”

Dudley and Bethany White were arrested Oct. 21 after an undercover investigation by the Warren County Sheriff’s Department and the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics. They pleaded guilty in Chaney’s chambers to the three charges July 13, as jury selection was about to get under way for their criminal trial

During the first part of their sentencing hearing July 28, an MBN agent testified that evidence from 22 previous and one recent meth “cooking” were found in and around the home, plus loaded guns, surveillance cameras and caustic chemicals used in the manufacture of the popular drug. The couple’s two daughters, 1 and 4 at the time, were playing near the meth lab area, the agent said.

Chaney first set sentencing for a week ago, but delayed it until today to review testimony taken at the sentencing hearing he said was not in a presentencing report.

“I do agree that the defendants need treatment, but justice requires that there be substantial consequences for their criminal behavior,” Chaney said during the sentencing.

Meth is a highly addictive chemical, which has become popular largely because it can be prepared without complicated equipment from readily available ingredients. It is a stimulant, entering the brain and triggering a cascading release of dopamine and serotonin to create a sense of euphoria.

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Contact Pamela Hitchins at phitchins@vicksburgpost.com