Modesto woman convicted of possessing meth for sale

A 37-year-old Modesto woman faces up to 14 years and 4 months in prison for possessing methamphetamine to sell and leading sheriff’s deputies in a vehicle chase shortly before she was captured.

Charlette Corine Novak is scheduled to be sentenced Monday. A jury on Feb. 27 found her guilty of transportation of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale and evading police, according to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office.

Novak had three prior convictions for transportation and possession of a controlled substance for sale. Each prior conviction makes her eligible to be sentenced to an additional three years in prison. Deputy District Attorney Jessica Bustos prosecuted the case.

On April 28, 2011, a Stanislaus County’s sheriff’s detective obtained a cell-phone from an arrested suspect. The detective initiated a text message conversation with that suspect’s drug dealer and arranged a meeting to buy meth.

Prosecutors said the dealer, later identified as Novak, drove away when she saw the undercover vehicle arriving at the meeting place.

A pursuit ensued and continued for 4 miles through Riverbank. Novak was spotted throwing several items out of her vehicle’s window. Prosecutors said she threw out a canister with two large bags of meth, a digital weight scale and her cell-phone. Those items were later recovered.

Novak then stopped the vehicle and was taken into custody. The sheriff’s deputies found Novak carrying some meth, as well as meth in her vehicle.

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 12:34 PM with the headline "Modesto woman convicted of possessing meth for sale."