Harless receives maximum penalty for toddler death

A woman received the maximum penalty for the overdose death of her 1-year-old grandson during a sentencing hearing Monday.

Tracy Ann Harless, 50, received a 20-year prison sentence with no time suspended from District Judge Greg Pinski, after entering an Alford plea to the negligent homicide charge in March days before her trial was scheduled to begin.

Pinski explained that he deviated from the state's recommended sentence called for through the plea agreement because of the victim's young age and the fact that Harless minimized the amount of danger she placed the toddler in, calling the defendant's home a "drug den."

"More than anything else, a baby boy lost his life through no fault of his own," Pinski concluded.

The nonbinding plea deal, through which Harless did not admit fault but rather recognized she might be convicted, carried a state-recommended sentence of 20 years in the Montana Women's Prison with 15 years suspended and no parole restrictions.

Harless' grandson, Riley Padilla, was found unresponsive in his crib July 28, 2013, according to court documents. Great Falls Police Detective Dan Smith testified the toddler died of an Oxycodone overdose. He had taken an amount that would have killed an adult.

Smith said Riley had Oxycodone and cocaine in his blood, a combination that mirrored Harless' blood chemistry, but not his mother's or aunt's, who also lived in the defendant's home. Smith also testified that Harless told investigators she hid her Oxycodone pills throughout her home days before Riley's death.

Harless spoke at the hearing, providing lengthy testimony about the alternate theories she provided to police about how the child may have been exposed to the deadly drug and the last moments she shared with her grandson. She provided a counter argument to most claims made by investigators throughout the case.

"I was not careless or negligent with my grandchild," she said, in tears. "I was not."

Harless told the judge she didn't hide loose pills in locations the toddler could reach.

"If it was mine, I just didn't see it," she said.

Harless' daughter Samantha Martyn spoke in defense of her mother, along with her older sister Jamie, Riley's mother. They both pleaded with Pinski to keep their mother out of prison and opt for chemical dependency and psychological treatment instead.

"None of us knew something like this would happen," Jamie Martyn said on the stand.

Smith said that through the investigation, police discovered hash oil was allegedly being made in Harless' home, though the defense attributed that activity to Jamie Martyn, who is currently enrolled in Cascade County's Drug Treatment Court program.

Smith said messages regarding alleged drug deals were found on Harless' iPad during the investigation. The state agreed to not file any charges based on allegations of narcotics distribution as a condition of the deal.

Investigators reported that 31 pills were estimated missing, based on Harless' prescription records, dosing and the number of pills found at the home.

Harless said in court that she believes some of her prescription medication was stolen.

Cascade County Attorney John Parker said the evidence showed Harless was in sole care of the child when he would have become symptomatic.

Harless' attorney, Sam Harris, told Pinski the evidence of drug use in the home was presented in a "false light" at times. He characterized his client as a damaged person.

"She walked through hell and stood by herself," he said.

But Pinski expressed his interpretation of the defendant's statements before handing down his sentence. "There was something mentioned that speaks very loudly," he began.

The judge went on to say it sounded as if Harless was blaming others, including her daughter, for the circumstances leading to her grandson's death. He added that Harless had nearly two years of time in the community on bond and she did not use that time to seek any sort of treatment.

"I truly feel sorry for Ms. Martyn," Pinski said, saying he believed Jamie Martyn was being manipulated by her mother.

It was an opinion echoed by Parker.

"She doesn't want to believe what happened here," Parker said of Riley's mother during his remarks regarding the state's sentencing recommendation.

From the bench, Pinski shared the outline of case research he completed prior to the sentencing hearing, noting that negligent homicide is one of the most difficult crimes to sentence because of the lack of intent coupled with the severity of loss.

Harless' daughters reacted strongly to Pinski's sentence, showing a great deal of emotion as their mother was handcuffed and led away by two Cascade County sheriff's deputies.

Pinski did not place any parole restrictions on Harless when pronouncing the sentence.

Reach Tribune Staff Writer Andrea Fisher-Nitschke at 791-6527 or anitschke@greatfallstribune.com.

Follow her on Twitter @GFTrib_Andrea.