Inmate given extra time
A woman inmate who smuggled drugs, pills and cigarettes into the Butler County Prison will spend an extra 2 to 4 years behind bars.
Roberta J. Obernauer, 41, of McKees Rocks, Allegheny County, was originally incarcerated on a 3-to-6-month stint stemming from her guilty plea to felony shoplifting. Butler arrested Obernauer after she stole a chicken from the Friedman’s supermarket.
The defendant was processed into the prison Nov. 14, detectives said, and found with a Suboxone strip, four diazepam tablets, five white pills, hand-rolled cigarettes and a cigarette lighter.
Suboxone, a prescription medication used to treat recovering heroin addicts, comes in different forms, including a dissolvable strip. Diazepam is the generic name for the anti-anxiety drug Valium. And melatonin is an over-the-counter medication used to ease insomnia.
When questioned Obernauer reportedly told investigators the drugs were “to assist in her own detox, not to provide to anyone else,” documents said.
Obernauer pleaded guilty to a felony count of possessing contraband. She was sentenced Thursday by Butler County Judge Timothy McCune.