MONROE - A former Monroe woman whose drug addiction led to a "crime-filled existence," causing her and her parents to seek help repeatedly, was sentenced last month in Green County Circuit Court to probation and mandatory treatment.
Halee Michelle McNett, 31, now living in West Des Moines, Iowa, pleaded no contest Feb. 13 to misdemeanors including disorderly conduct, theft of moveable property and three counts of retail theft. She was sentenced to three years on probation.
She also pleaded no contest and entered a three-year deferred prosecution agreement on a felony charge of forgery. If she complies with the conditions of the agreement, which include not further violating the law, the felony conviction will be dismissed from her record.
Other charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal, including additional charges of forgery and theft and seven counts of misdemeanor bail jumping.
McNett had been through three treatment programs that failed.
At a gathering in Monroe on Friday, McNett spoke to a room of 16 people about her life dealing with addiction, starting with drinking, which she noted "was always fun" as a way to "make feelings go away, but it actually just made them worse."
While living in Arizona several years ago, McNett said she realized her addiction to alcohol had gone too far. She was there for roughly seven years between 2008 and 2016.
"In the morning, it wasn't just wanting to have a drink," McNett said. "It was needing to have a drink."
McNett "currently is doing fantastic," according to statements filed to the court by her parents.
But her addiction has been a battle for years. Her struggle was derailed again last year after the heroin overdose in June of her fiance.
Dylan T. Helback "fought a long, hard battle with addiction, which ended peacefully," his obituary stated. He was 30 years old.
McNett lives with the memory of the day Helback died.
"We both got arrested for bail jumping," McNett said. "The next morning, they let him out. We both were bawling, because we were in detox cells and we were right next to each other. He was like, 'don't make me leave her.' We both tried to touch through the glass, and it was fogged up because I was crying, but I could see his eyes. I remember that like yesterday. The next thing I heard was the cell door opening ... it was Dylan's mom. He had died the night before."
She described Helback as the love of her life and the reason she wanted to speak publicly about her struggles with substance abuse.
"He wanted to be up here with me, doing stuff like this," McNett said.
She added that staying in Wisconsin isn't an option for her because of the painful memories; she plans to return to Iowa to continue recovering. McNett said she has a voucher to travel back to the state while on probation. She said her goal is to be happy with a stable art career, away from drugs.
The cases against McNett stem from a series of police calls to her parents' home on Middle Juda Road in Monroe, including a report in early June that she stole checks from her parents, forged them to herself and cashed them at a local bank.
Court records also indicate that she conspired in April to shoplift several thousand dollars' worth of merchandise from area businesses, including wire and video games to pawn or sell, from Wal-Mart, Harris Ace Hardware and Gasser Hardware and Farm Supply.
During multiple contacts with police in late 2016 and early 2017, McNett showed signs of being impaired from narcotics, like droopy eyelids and nodding off, or being extremely drunk, according to police reports. During one visit to her parents' home, a breathalyzer test showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.226, nearly three times the legal limit for driving in Wisconsin.
In addition to drinking alcohol and using heroin, she was getting fentanyl patches sent to her in the mail, the police reports indicate. Fentanyl is a highly addictive opioid painkiller and especially dangerous if mixed with alcohol.
She told police she wanted help and wanted to stop using drugs, and her parents also begged for help.
"Our hearts are hurting for her and what this addiction has done. The incident that happened is not our Halee at all," her mother wrote in a statement to the court after one arrest.
McNett said she began using heroin in Arizona with a boyfriend named Joey. She described a descent into homelessness, recalling the day she was arrested after calling an ambulance to make sure Joey didn't die as he overdosed.
"This starts the most treacherous years of my life," she said. "We ended up losing everything. Feeling that alone and feeling that helpless ... I can't even think of an adequate word to describe it."
Her crimes "occurred because of her addiction," according to another statement from her parents. "She needs a long-term rehab to help her. Jail or a fine is not going to help her. This is out of her character, but the addiction speaks."
Kelsey Wuethrich, 27, Monroe, spoke of her own struggle with heroin addiction after McNett, stressing the importance of help and treatment. She noted her shock at finding a community of support during her recovery and said she helped establish a Heroin Anonymous meeting within the city.
"Seeing the other side of it now, seeing how much it affects my family, it's sad," Wuethrich said. "I don't ever want to disappoint people like that again."
Halee Michelle McNett, 31, now living in West Des Moines, Iowa, pleaded no contest Feb. 13 to misdemeanors including disorderly conduct, theft of moveable property and three counts of retail theft. She was sentenced to three years on probation.
She also pleaded no contest and entered a three-year deferred prosecution agreement on a felony charge of forgery. If she complies with the conditions of the agreement, which include not further violating the law, the felony conviction will be dismissed from her record.
Other charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal, including additional charges of forgery and theft and seven counts of misdemeanor bail jumping.
McNett had been through three treatment programs that failed.
At a gathering in Monroe on Friday, McNett spoke to a room of 16 people about her life dealing with addiction, starting with drinking, which she noted "was always fun" as a way to "make feelings go away, but it actually just made them worse."
While living in Arizona several years ago, McNett said she realized her addiction to alcohol had gone too far. She was there for roughly seven years between 2008 and 2016.
"In the morning, it wasn't just wanting to have a drink," McNett said. "It was needing to have a drink."
McNett "currently is doing fantastic," according to statements filed to the court by her parents.
But her addiction has been a battle for years. Her struggle was derailed again last year after the heroin overdose in June of her fiance.
Dylan T. Helback "fought a long, hard battle with addiction, which ended peacefully," his obituary stated. He was 30 years old.
McNett lives with the memory of the day Helback died.
"We both got arrested for bail jumping," McNett said. "The next morning, they let him out. We both were bawling, because we were in detox cells and we were right next to each other. He was like, 'don't make me leave her.' We both tried to touch through the glass, and it was fogged up because I was crying, but I could see his eyes. I remember that like yesterday. The next thing I heard was the cell door opening ... it was Dylan's mom. He had died the night before."
She described Helback as the love of her life and the reason she wanted to speak publicly about her struggles with substance abuse.
"He wanted to be up here with me, doing stuff like this," McNett said.
She added that staying in Wisconsin isn't an option for her because of the painful memories; she plans to return to Iowa to continue recovering. McNett said she has a voucher to travel back to the state while on probation. She said her goal is to be happy with a stable art career, away from drugs.
The cases against McNett stem from a series of police calls to her parents' home on Middle Juda Road in Monroe, including a report in early June that she stole checks from her parents, forged them to herself and cashed them at a local bank.
Court records also indicate that she conspired in April to shoplift several thousand dollars' worth of merchandise from area businesses, including wire and video games to pawn or sell, from Wal-Mart, Harris Ace Hardware and Gasser Hardware and Farm Supply.
During multiple contacts with police in late 2016 and early 2017, McNett showed signs of being impaired from narcotics, like droopy eyelids and nodding off, or being extremely drunk, according to police reports. During one visit to her parents' home, a breathalyzer test showed a blood-alcohol content of 0.226, nearly three times the legal limit for driving in Wisconsin.
In addition to drinking alcohol and using heroin, she was getting fentanyl patches sent to her in the mail, the police reports indicate. Fentanyl is a highly addictive opioid painkiller and especially dangerous if mixed with alcohol.
She told police she wanted help and wanted to stop using drugs, and her parents also begged for help.
"Our hearts are hurting for her and what this addiction has done. The incident that happened is not our Halee at all," her mother wrote in a statement to the court after one arrest.
McNett said she began using heroin in Arizona with a boyfriend named Joey. She described a descent into homelessness, recalling the day she was arrested after calling an ambulance to make sure Joey didn't die as he overdosed.
"This starts the most treacherous years of my life," she said. "We ended up losing everything. Feeling that alone and feeling that helpless ... I can't even think of an adequate word to describe it."
Her crimes "occurred because of her addiction," according to another statement from her parents. "She needs a long-term rehab to help her. Jail or a fine is not going to help her. This is out of her character, but the addiction speaks."
Kelsey Wuethrich, 27, Monroe, spoke of her own struggle with heroin addiction after McNett, stressing the importance of help and treatment. She noted her shock at finding a community of support during her recovery and said she helped establish a Heroin Anonymous meeting within the city.
"Seeing the other side of it now, seeing how much it affects my family, it's sad," Wuethrich said. "I don't ever want to disappoint people like that again."