HOLLIDAYSBURG — The woman who in May 2023 helped a Philadelphia drug trafficker conceal a large stash of illegal substances was sentenced Tuesday to six to 15 years’ incarceration, despite the woman’s plea for a probationary sentence to address what she described as a stupid decision.

Blair County Judge Jackie Bernard listened to 36-year-old Brittany Smalley of Altoona, formerly of East Freedom, explain that her actions reflected a desire to make money when she wasn’t working and when she and husband, Kyle, were two months behind in their rent.

“This is not something we do all the time,” Brittany Smalley told Bernard. “We’re not drug dealers.”

Smalley, who previously worked at the Altoona Grand Hotel, said she met Isaiah R. Tilghman Jr. around Thanksgiving 2022 when he and his girlfriend started to occasionally rent a room for weeklong stays.

She said her husband, Kyle, who also worked for the hotel, barely knew Tilghman.

On May 1, 2023, she acknowledged getting a call from Tilghman who asked for help in removing his belongings from a room at the hotel. At the time, drug law enforcement agents had learned that Tilghman was in Altoona. But before the agents arrived at the hotel, criminal charges indicate that Brittany Smalley instructed Kyle to remove Tilghman’s belongings from the room. Those items included a large black bag Kyle Smalley put in his truck and transported to their home, then in East Freedom.

Police, who were able to track the bag to the Smalleys’ residence, found a massive amount of what was identified as fentanyl with xylazine, along with methamphetamine and cocaine.

Subsequently, Brittany Smalley worked with police to set up a meeting place in Altoona so Tilghman could retrieve his belongings. But at the meeting site, police arrested Tilghman after a short foot chase.

District Attorney Pete Weeks asked Bernard to consider a sentence of six to 15 years for Brittany Smalley in light of her knowledge of what Tilghman was doing at the hotel and her attempt to help him.

“She was safeguarding a significant amount of controlled substances that were slated to be distributed in this community,” the prosecutor said.

The evidence in the case, according to Weeks, showed Brittany Smalley was aware of what Tilghman was doing while in Altoona. Weeks spoke of evidence indicating that prior to May 1, 2023, Brittany Smalley was texting and engaging in video calls with Tilghman. He also referenced evidence indicating that she, at one point, had found drugs above the ceiling tiles in Tilghman’s hotel room.

Smalley, in January, decided against heading to trial and entered guilty pleas to felony charges that included possession with intent to deliver heroin with fentanyl, criminal conspiracy and dealing in proceeds of an unlawful act.

Defense attorney John Siford asked Bernard to consider a probationary sentence in light of Smalley’s momentary weakness of having given into the temptation of making $5,000 when she and her family were struggling financially.

“She didn’t have an appreciation for the amount of drugs involved,” Siford said.

Kyle Smalley, who was sentenced to 10 years’ probation to address his charges, asked that his wife be sentenced to probation, too.

“We made mistakes … but I don’t think her being incarcerated will help anybody,” Kyle Smalley said.

Weeks, who agreed to the probationary sentence for Kyle Smalley, said he wouldn’t make that same deal with Brittany Smalley based on her lack of honesty.

Weeks said he initially included Brittany Smalley among the witnesses when Tilghman was scheduled to go on trial. But in preparation for trial, the district attorney said he concluded that he couldn’t call her because he had no assurance that she would testify truthfully.

Tilghman subsequently decided against a trial and entered guilty pleas to charges linked to drug trafficking and his escape from the county prison through a ventilation shaft. In December, Bernard sentenced him to 19.5 to 47 years’ incarceration.

Bernard told Brittany Smalley that she understood her desire for a probationary sentence would allow her to continue with local treatment to address drug abuse and mental health issues. But Bernard said those treatment options will be available during incarceration in a state prison. And once incarceration ends, the judge said state supervision will provide the best opportunity for rehabilitation.

Siford said his client will be eligible to apply for early release under the state’s Recidivism Risk Reduction Incentive, which could cut her minimum sentence to five years.

After Bernard imposed the sentence, sheriff deputies escorted the handcuffed Brittany Smalley from the courtroom.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.