A Bedford County woman who trailed police during undercover drug operations and posted the home address of one officer to her blog was convicted Thursday of obstructing justice.

Elisha Strom pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges at a hearing in Albemarle County General District Court.

"Our perception was that she was obsessed in some way" with the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement task force, Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Chapman said.

Strom had been charged with the felony of harassing police through her blog, "I HeArTE JADE." Authorities said Strom posted a police officer's address to the site, which can be read as either "I heart JADE" or "I hate JADE."

The case drew the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, which contends the law is an unconstitutional restriction of free speech rights.

But with Strom deciding to plead guilty to a different and less serious charge, the ACLU never took an active role in her defense.

Under an agreement reached during a joint hearing in Charlottesville and Albemarle County General District Courts, Strom received a suspended jail sentence of 60 days on each of the two charges.

To avoid being sent to jail, Strom must stay out of trouble for two years. That includes not contacting JADE officers, not following them around and not publishing their photographs or addresses.

As part of her self-described fascination with police work, Strom has made it a habit to follow JADE officers around, often photographing them and posting their pictures online.

"It was a Web site that was supposed to be fun and lighthearted," she said in an August interview. "I guess I'll have to find a new hobby."

Strom, 34, focused on a law enforcement community nearly two hours away from her Thaxton home. She has had ties to the Charlottesville community.

On July 9, Strom followed JADE officers from the police station when they set out to conduct an undercover drug operation in the Belmont section of Charlottesville.

As an undercover agent tried to purchase crack from a suspected drug dealer, Strom drove past the scene repeatedly -- threatening to blow the officers' cover and putting them in potential danger, Chapman said.

"It became what amounted to the last straw for us," Chapman said, noting that Strom has been warned in the past to stop interfering with police operations.

At about the same time, authorities in Albemarle County charged Storm with harassing police in connection with the posting of an officer's home address on her Web site.

It was not clear Thursday whether the ACLU's threat to challenge the Albemarle County charge was a factor in the decision to reduce the felony of police harassment to a misdemeanor of obstruction of justice.

Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford and Strom's attorney, George Coles, could not be reached for comment.

Kent Willis, executive director of the Virginia ACLU chapter, said that even though Strom was not convicted of harassing police -- which carries a mandatory six-month jail sentence -- his group still plans to cite the case in asking the General Assembly to revise the law.

"The law is still there," Willis said. "It's still unconstitutional."

"The First Amendment gives citizens broad leeway to be critical of and to post information about public officials," he said. "That's part of a transparent government."