Feb 20, 2014 2 min read

An Eighty Four woman charged in a crime spree last year with her son will now join him as a state prison inmate.

Pamela Cessna, 54, of Hothouse Lane, was sentenced 6 to 12 years in prison Wednesday by Washington County Judge Katherine Emery.

Emery then ordered Cessna to participate in a special prison program, the Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive Program, that could reduce her sentence to 5 years.

Cessna’s son, Nicholas Cessna, 22, of the same address, was sentenced last month to 5 to 10 years in prison. He also was ordered to serve five years of probation after his incarceration.

The Cessnas were charged a year ago with conspiracy and burglary for breaking into homes in North Strabane, South Strabane and Somerset townships. Jewelry valued at $75,000 and at least one gun were stolen.

At a preliminary hearing, a witness testified jewelry was sold to obtain cash for at least one heroin purchase in Pittsburgh. Police said they found drug paraphernalia in the Cessnas’ home.

The duo also were charged in a prescription drug scheme, Assistant District Attorney Jerome Moschetta said. Mother and son were among 13 people charged in May in connection with the state attorney general’s investigation into the prescription ring, which obtained thousands of narcotic pills, including oxycodone and Adderall, in seven counties, including Washington.

The pair pleaded gulity in the drug case, and Moschetta said Emery decided to combine the drug and burglary cases for sentencing purposes.

Staff writer Barbara S. Miller contributed to this report.