Woman, 79, Gets Probation for Drug Dealing

"You've never done anything (wrong) before in your life," Henry County Superior Court Judge Arch McGarity said.

"And I won't ever again," Edwards replied.

Police said undercover officers went to the home Edwards shares with her 84-year-old husband four times and bought $1,600 in prescription pills including the anti-anxiety drug Xanax, the painkiller hydrocordone and muscle relaxer Soma.

The officers paid $3-$5 per pill and recorded the transactions with hidden microphones.

Defense attorney John Webb said the couple, married almost 40 years, were set up by the son of a family friend.

Webb said the younger drug abuser begged the Edwardses for pills, then got into trouble and brought undercover police to the house.

Louie Edwards did not stand trial. The retired welder, who uses a walker and relies on the prescriptions to ease pain cause by back operations, was judged mentally incompetent.

Edwards will not be required to undergo drug counseling because the couple's daughter was appointed their guardian. If she violates probation, Edwards faces 30 years in prison.

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Information from: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, http://www.ajc.com

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