Brittany and Marcelino Santiago emerged as a happily-ever-after story on Love After Lockup Season 2. Within months of Brittany’s release from prison, the two were walking down the aisle and expecting their first child together. By the end of the year, they made their marriage official (after Marcelino got his pesky previous marriage annulled), and welcomed their daughter Zoila.
BRITTANY AND HER EX GIRLFRIEND AMANDA
However, the couple’s happily ever after almost got derailed early on due to Brittany’s prison girlfriend Amanda! As featured prominently on Season 2, Brittany was wrestling with her feelings for Amanda — and Amanda was wrestling to win Brittany back. The two even tried on wedding dresses together in a scene that clearly showed that Amanda wasn’t the only one of the two that still had feelings for the other.
“As soon as I saw her come out in a wedding dress, I felt guilty,” Brittany said in her voice over. “I still am attracted to her, and I still care about her — which is a little confusing.”
“She is absolutely in love with Brittany,” one of the wedding dress shop employees told the camera. “I think they’re perfect for each other. I do.”
Amanda later accepted that Marcelino was the one for Brittany, then found a man of her own. And she and Brittany (and Marcelino) appear to still be close friends; they recently attended a Love After Lockup viewing party together along with Brittany’s old prison bunkie Sascha. Unfortunately for Sascha, she won’t be attending another viewing party any time soon, as last month she was sentenced last month to between ten and thirty-six years in prison.
WHY WAS AMANDA IN PRISON?
One burning question that Love After Lockup didn’t address is what Amanda did to get arrested in the first place. It also wasn’t clear if she was still at risk of additional sentencing, as Sascha apparently was.
Regarding the first question, Amanda was arrested for possession of meth with intent to distribute. According to court documents, at approximately 6:15AM on February 22, 2017, members of the Las Vegas FBI SWAT team served a search warrant at a Las Vegas address. One of the people they took into custody was Amanda, who she admitted to officers at the scene that she lived in one of the upstairs bedrooms. She didn’t provide much more information; the arresting officer stated that Amanda “refused to answer questions, told me she was ‘high’ on pain pills and asked to be taken to jail.”
In Amanda’s bedroom, police uncovered a backpack with “4.3 grams gross ODV positive Methamphetamine, miscellaneous pills, scales and baggies.”
Amanda later pleaded guilty to possession of between 4 and 14 grams methamphetamine with intent to sell — a Category D felony. (I assume the “intent to sell” was because of the amount in her possession combined with the baggies and the scales.) That charge was actually a reduction from her initial charge of drug trafficking, which is a Class B felony.
Amanda was sentenced to 12-36 months in prison on September 18, 2017. She was credited with 88 days time served. The earliest she was eligible for parole was mid-January of 2018. As viewers of the show are aware, she got out of prison before Brittany.
#LoveAfterLockup Brittany's close friend and former prison bunkie Sascha is back in prison – for a long time. Find out details about the 2013 crime that got her a sentence of 10-36 years early last month. #LifeAfterLockup https://t.co/6zkhoPeklX
— Starcasm (@starcasm) May 25, 2019
IS AMANDA STILL FREE? BACK IN PRISON? ON PAROLE?
So what is Amanda’s current status as far as parole / probation? From what I can tell, she is free and clear! The Nevada Department of Corrections lists her status as “inactive.”
And what about Amanda’s relationship status? I don’t know if she’s currently dating anyone, but she is looking fandamntastic! (See photo below.) Hopefully, the 33-year-old has gotten her life on track and will be able to keep it that way. Amanda’s Instagram account is fairly active, so perhaps the small spotlight from being on the show will motivate her to stay out of trouble.
AMANDA’S PREVIOUS ARRESTS
Speaking of trouble, the meth possession wasn’t the only thing that turned up when searching through Amanda’s criminal history — although it does appear she’s only been convicted of two charges, including the one above. It looks as though Amanda was already on probation from an attempted grand larceny conviction in 2015 when she was sentenced on the meth charge two years later.
Here is a timeline of other charges she has faced over the years — just in Clark County:
05/12/2005 – BATTERY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE (Denied)
09/14/2005 – BATTERY (Dismissed)
09/01/2007 – BATTERY (Dismissed)
03/14/2008 – SOLICITING PROSTITUTION (Denied)
03/12/2015 – Grand larceny under $3500 (Convicted of attempted grand larceny)
03/26/2015 – Possession with intent to sell schedule I/II (Dismissed)
03/26/2015 – Use/possession of drug-paraphernalia (Dismissed)
10/18/2015 – Possession of schedule I, II, III, IV c/s (Denied)
11/03/2015 – Use/possession of drug-paraphernalia, Possession of hypodermic device (Dismissed)
11/23/2015 – False statement to/obstructing public official (Dismissed)
12/04/2015 – Petit larceny (Closed)
12/29/2015 – Petit larceny (Closed)
02/24/2017 – Trafficking schedule I controlled substance (Convicted of possession of schedule I controlled substance with intent to sell)
I assume we will all get to see more of Amanda when Love After Lockup: Life After Lockup premieres on Friday, June 14 at 9/8c on WE tv!
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
