by Michele Hriciso

Created on: March 01, 2008

My grandmother was the victim of a drug-related crime this week.

My cousin Melissa, who was my grandmother's favorite granddaughter, entered my grandmother's house earlier this week, placed a blanket over my grandmother's head and robbed her of her money belt, which was around her waist at the time.

At the very least, Melissa stands to be charged with at least one felony crime that carries a mandatory prison sentence.

I don't know at this point whether she walked into my grandmother's house through the unlocked front door or whether she broke in. I haven't been able to talk to the investigating officer yet, and I only had a brief conversation with my aunt about the situation, during which I learned that my grandmother didn't report the crime right away.

What I do know is this: Melissa is obviously smoking crack again.

I am 14 years older than Melissa, but at one point in her life we were quite close. She was very smart and had a cute personality to go with the blonde good looks she inherited from the father she never knew.

The first sign of trouble that I personally saw was sexual impropriety. When she was 12, Melissa began to flaunt her female assets in front of male family members, trying to get them to pay attention to her. Her parents noticed, but she was increasingly acting in ways that put her beyond their control.

Finally, my husband told me that he didn't want to be around her without a witness present because she made him very uncomfortable. We began to distance ourselves from her after that.

Within the year, she had begun smoking marijuana and become involved in a juvenile burglary ring. The adult leader would send the kids into houses with specific orders to be filled, and they would steal what they were told to steal in exchange for drugs and sexual favors. She wound up in a couple of juvenile programs.

Melissa got pregnant for the first time at 17 and was pregnant again at 19 by a different man. I use the term man loosely; he went to jail at least once for committing domestic violence battery on her. At that point, she was at least attempting to raise her kids.

In 2004, she was arrested for what amounted to welfare fraud. She was put on probation but, like many people in the zero-tolerance Florida probation system, didn't finish successfully.

Things went from bad to worse. Melissa finally left her abuser when it became clear to her that her life was in danger, but she was ill equipped for the stresses of single parenthood. She and the boys moved in with

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