A Leesburg woman who was arrested with drug paraphernalia admitted to lying about her identity while leaving a traffic stop at the Lee Motel.
A deputy observed a silver Toyota, the passenger of which was later identified as 36-year-old Riki Dawn Mitchell, traveling northbound on 14th Street, Leesburg, around 2:10 a.m. Friday, according to an arrest report from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. A check of the tag came back to a grey Chevrolet.
Due to the attached tag not being assigned to the vehicle, a traffic stop was conducted near Yellow Jacket Way. The vehicle subsequently pulled into the parking lot of Lee Motel, located at 201 S. 14th St. A K-9 unit responded to the traffic stop and conducted an open-air sniff around the outside of the vehicle, the report said.
The K-9 alerted on the front passenger side of the vehicle where Mitchell was sitting. She identified herself as “Monica Fish” with a birthday in 1980. This name and information did not come back with any Florida license even though she stated she had a valid license, the report said.
Upon searching the vehicle and its contents, a glass smoking device was found in a white plastic bag. This bag was positioned between Mitchell’s legs at the start of the stop. The glass device resembled a smoking pipe, commonly used for narcotics. The tube tested presumptive positive for cocaine, the report said.
Mitchell was then placed under arrest and taken to the back of a patrol car. When the deputy explained that he believed her to be lying about her identity, she gave the correct information. This was confirmed using a photo from a law enforcement database, the report said.
The Texas native was charged with false information to law enforcement officer and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $2,000.
She was also arrested in May 2022 when fingerprints tied her to a check stolen from Brick and Barrel, and in July 2023 when a clerk helped bust her for seeking a driver’s license with a phony identification.