Five years. That’s how long a former Homeland Security agent recognized for his expertise on the synthetic drug bath salts will spend in federal prison after he pleaded guilty to selling the drug while on the job in Salt Lake City.

Before Nicholas Kindle was sentenced Oct. 22, his defense attorney argued Kindle’s prison time should reflect his willingness to cooperate with the FBI.

The attorney, Darrell York, asked for a 33-month sentence (about two years and nine months), just below the 37-46 months that he said his client would typically face under sentencing guidelines.

Though his argument failed to sway U.S. District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen in her St. George courtroom, she did recommend that Kindle serve his five-year sentence at FPC Yankton, a minimum security federal priso

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