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A Tucson woman believed to have been running one of Tucson's largest methamphetamine organizations was sentenced Friday to five years in prison to be followed by four years of probation.

Judge Michael Cruikshank of Pima County Superior Court told Donna Greenwell she is "the best example of the destruction methamphetamine can have on a person's life."

Authorities believe Greenwell, 51, and Timothy Owens, 50, ran a large methamphetamine ring in the middle of Tucson for more than a year.

The organization was brought down after detectives began taking a closer look at a number of repeat drug offenders and came across Owens and Greenwell.

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent learned that in July 2004, Greenwell had been arrested by Tucson police officers after a routine traffic stop turned up several bags of methamphetamine and cocaine in her car.

When the agent looked into the case further, he discovered that locked up in an evidence locker was a ledger seized along with the drugs.

To his surprise, inside the ledger was a list of seven months of drug transactions, Deputy Pima County Attorney Richard Wintory said.

The ledger showed that Greenwell sold more than 20 pounds of methamphetamine for $245,000 in cash, plus an additional $200,000 in tools, guns, cars and other property, Wintory said.

Owens and Greenwell were indicted along with 39 other people in August 2005 on multiple drug-related counts.

Owens was sentenced to life in prison in February after being convicted of 22 felony charges, including illegal control of an enterprise, use of an electronic communication device in drug transactions, solicitation to commit murder and kidnapping, and a variety of drug charges.

Greenwell pleaded guilty to 16 felony charges in January immediately after opening statements in her trial.

Knowing his client could spend the rest of her life in prison, defense attorney David Gerson pleaded with Judge Cruikshank to look beyond Greenwell's indictment.

"Meth turned her into a horrible person, but that's not who she is," Gerson said. "There's more to her than this."

When he first became her attorney, Gerson said, they would scream at each other, but as time went on she transitioned out of being the "wicked witch of the East."

In fact, Gerson said, Greenwell has tried while sitting in jail to help people and become a better mother to her children.

Greenwell's husband of more than 30 years lost an arm in an accident in 1997, had a brain aneurism and ultimately died in 2006, according to court documents.

Greenwell told a pre-sentence report writer that she began using methamphetamine to help her cope, and she ended up meeting many undesirable people, including Owens.

Although Greenwell denied the group was as organized as Wintory claims, she said if she were given a second chance she would not make the same mistakes and would never end up in court again.

Before announcing the sentence, Cruikshank noted that Greenwell's ledger shows what a detail-oriented and "ruthless and aggressive" drug dealer she was. While she's clearly remorseful, her actions "went a long way in destroying dozens of lives," the judge said.

Greenwell was the last of the 41 defendants to be sentenced in the case, Wintory said.

Thanks to the hard work of the Counter Narcotics Alliance, he said, the Midtown neighborhood where Owens and Greenwell operated "is now a different and better place for the families and retirees who are trying to make a life there."

Asked about Greenwell's sentence, Wintory said, "She obviously earned leniency through her acceptance of responsibility.

"I think the sentence reflected the judge's belief that her age and acceptance of responsibility earned her something better than her business partner's life sentence."