Inmate’s mom convicted in plot with lawyer hailed on ‘Ellen’

PRINCE GEORGE, Va. (AP) — A Virginia woman has been convicted of conspiring to smuggle drugs and a cellphone to her jailed son with an attorney who gained national attention on the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”

Kimberly Walker-Debro entered Alford pleas in court Thursday to two conspiracy charges. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that under a plea agreement, she was sentenced to a 15-year suspended sentence.

Prosecutors said Walker-Debro collaborated with Richmond attorney Dana Tapper to smuggle a cellphone and Suboxone strips to Walker-Debro’s son, Karon Porter. He is serving a 30-year sentence for killing a Marine officer in a crash while fleeing police.

Tapper pleaded guilty and received a 20-year sentence with all but three months suspended. In 2013, DeGeneres recognized Tapper for her volunteer work helping minors transition out of juvenile detention centers.