Judge sentences Misty Croslin to 25 years

ST. AUGUSTINE — Misty Croslin, the Putnam County woman who was with 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings in February 2009 when the girl was reported missing, was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison for trafficking oxycodone.

Circuit Judge Wendy Berger handed down the sentence following testimony from Croslin and her mother, Lisa Croslin, that included details of Misty Croslin's rape, her elementary-level education, and of her growing up with drug abusing parents who often left their kids to fend for themselves.

Croslin and her attorney, Robert Fields, said the reason Croslin was investigated for drug trafficking was because of her involvement in the Haleigh case.

But Berger was not swayed.

"It is clear that you had a hard life, but lots of people have hard lives and don't always end up committing crimes," Berger said in delivering the sentence. "You may not have a lot of book smarts — you have a lot of street smarts. You did it for the money. This case is not about Haleigh Cummings, Misty. This case is about you and your co-defendants in trafficking drugs. You are here because you sold drugs."

The sentence was the mandatory minimum for the amount of drugs involved in the St. Johns County case, which stemmed from a police investigation in January. Her sentencing on seven additional counts in Putnam County is scheduled for Oct. 19.

Croslin, 18, said she knew that dealing drugs was wrong but added the reason there was an undercover operation was because of Haleigh's case. The girl's father — Ronald Cummings — and three others also were arrested and have been sentenced in the drug case.

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for the Haleigh Cummings case. I wouldn't have been set up. People are judging me and they don't even know me," Croslin said. "I do know I was wrong for what I did. I am not trying to blame anyone else."

Croslin said that a Florida Department of Law Enforcement agent who worked on the drug investigation told her when they were about to ride in the same car to "just take me to (Haleigh's) body. Do it before (Oct. 8) because you are going to be sentenced and you are going way for a long, long time."

That agent, Travis Smith, testified he told Croslin he wished she would take him to the body. He said Croslin was a mid-level drug dealer who investigators target for undercover operations.

Smith said Croslin had multiple sources from whom to get drugs, an indication that she was versed in trafficking.

"A person who is naive to the drug business or new to the drug business isn't going to have multiple sources of supply, isn't going to have the credibility," Smith said.

Croslin's attorney Robert Fields argued for youthful offender status, which would have been a sentence of six years. He brought out information from Croslin and her mother, Lisa Croslin, alleging his client grew up with parents who used drugs heavily, lived in campgrounds for lengthy periods and that she was raped by several men, including a man who repeatedly raped her when she was between the ages of 7 and 14.

Croslin is the last of five co-defendants to be sentenced. All have received prison time.

Several of the others — including Ronald Cummings — cut plea deals with the state that included a provision that they would testify, if needed, in Croslin's case.

Lisa Croslin would not comment about the sentence afterward. Croslin's grandmother, Flora Hollars, said she had spoken in recent days with Croslin and that Croslin believed she was going to get the full sentence.

Croslin's legs repeatedly shook during the proceeding and she often broke down in tears. Meanwhile, Haleigh's mother, Crystal Sheffield, at times shook her head during testimony and also cried at several points.

Teresa Neves, Ronald Cummings' mother, afterward described Croslin as an "18-year-old who has every excuse in the book ... She got what she deserved and she should be there until she tells where Haleigh is."

Croslin was Cummings' girlfriend and was home with Haleigh and her younger brother, Ronald Jr., on the night she disappeared. Croslin initially told police someone took the little girl in the middle of the night. She later implicated a cousin, Joseph Overstreet, who lives in Tennessee. He has denied the accusations. Authorities have interviewed him on the matter.

Contact Cindy Swirko at 374-5024 or swirkoc@gvillesun.com.