A Fruitland Park woman who was arrested with methamphetamine during a traffic stop.
An officer observed a green Ford SUV, later found to contain 40-year-old Amanda Carroll Burgess, speeding eastbound on Picciola Cutoff Road near the intersection with Black Bass Circle around 10:09 p.m. Aug. 24, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. Radar displayed the vehicle’s speed at 40 mph in a 30-mph zone, leading the officer to conduct a traffic stop.
The report noted the SUV continued to pass several smaller street driveways and a parking lot before abruptly stopping nearly completely in the roadway. During this time, the officer did not see the driver or the passenger reach across the vehicle.
The officer approached the male driver and explained the reason for the stop. The driver advised that he thought the speed limit was 40 mph, changing this to say his speedometer light did not work. The officer next requested his license, registration and proof of insurance, also asking the passenger, Burgess, if she had any ID on her, the report said.
Burgess began reaching around and rummaging through bags she claimed were hers. The officer noticed both occupants seemed nervous as seen by their shaky hands and voices, oversharing of information, avoidance of eye contact and fumbling of their items, the report said.
Based on this behavior and a prior encounter with the driver, the officer asked if there were any guns, drugs or other weapons in the vehicle he should be aware of. The driver advised there were not and also denied the officer consent to search the vehicle when he asked, citing their dog needed to be home by 10 p.m. The officer therefore requested a K-9 unit respond to the scene, the report said.
After receiving the necessary information for the traffic violation, the officer returned to his patrol vehicle and began drafting a written warning. During this, the K-9 unit arrived and conducted a free-air sniff around the outside of the SUV. The report noted that Burgess continuously reached around despite being told to stop and place her hands on the dashboard several times.
The K-9 unit officer then advised that his K-9 partner positively alerted to the odor of narcotics from within the vehicle, leading to a probable cause search. Near the bottom of one of the pinks bags Burgess searched through to find her ID was a canvas Jeep bag. It had a Betsy Johnson perfume box containing a plastic baggie with a crystal-like substance that tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed about 17.12 grams, the report said.
Also found within the purse were two packs of White Peach Owl cigarillos both containing two cigarillos each. However, one of the packs was open and contained a folded dollar bill. Inside the bill, an officer recognized a bindle, which is a common method to package narcotics using the corner of a plastic bag, of about .58 grams of a white, chalky substance. This tested presumptive positive for cocaine, the report said.
The report noted that Burgess’ wallet containing her credit and debit cards along with her ID was found within the same bag, as well as prescriptions bearing her name.
As soon as the K-9 officer began detaining Burgess, she asked to speak with the first officer on scene and advised that the items within her purse were not hers. She claimed the driver put those items in her bag, and they did not belong to her as she did not use illicit narcotics. However, she later asked if she could “only be charged with the Molly,” the report said.
The officer had not disclosed the items he found, nor had he field tested them yet. Burgess went on to say that she only used Molly, or MDMA/ecstasy, and a girl at Walmart gave it to her in a packet of White Peach Owl cigarillos. When advised what all she was being charged with, she continued to state the items were not put there by her because she would not place her drugs near her adult sex toy, the report said.
The driver was ultimately released from the scene with a written warning, the report said.
Burgess was arrested on charges of trafficking methamphetamine (greater than 14 grams less than 28 grams) and possession of cocaine. The Pennsylvania native was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $2,500.