A Villager was arrested on drug possession charges early Monday morning after a Marion County Sheriff’s deputy stopped her for having an inoperable license tag light.
Lisa Ann Lynn, 56, who was driving a white Hyundai Sonata in the 16800 block of County Road 25 in Weirsdale, told the deputy she didn’t have her driver’s license with her but that it recently had been reinstated.
While speaking with Lynn, the deputy spotted a small brown leather case on the passenger floorboard that looked like a purse. But Lynn told him it was a shaving kit, a sheriff’s office report states.
A check of Lynn’s driver’s license showed that it was suspended on March 21. She also received a citation for driving with a suspended license on May 24 and it had not been reinstated, the report says.
A further check also showed that Lynn was found guilty of driving with a suspended license on June 20 in Lake County.
A short time later, as the deputy was explaining the status of her license, he again asked Lynn about the small brown bag. She pulled it into her lap, told the deputy it was her “kit” and then opened the bag, revealing multiple syringes, a metal spoon with a white powder residue, a pill crusher and several pills, the report says.
Lynn, who lives at 1305 Balboa Ct. in the Village of Rio Ponderosa, told the deputy the pills were hers and that she crushes them up before consuming them. When asked about the spoon, Lynn said she puts the crushed pills it in with applesauce because she can’t swallow pills, the report says, adding that she also claimed the syringes were in the bag because her mother has diabetes and takes insulin intravenously.
The deputy noticed several bruised syringe injection marks on Lynn’s right arm near the crevice of her elbow, which he believed were from the use of illegal narcotics, the report says. The deputy also noted in the report that from his training and experience, when found together, the spoon with a residue on it, syringes, pills and a pill crusher are often used to inject illicit narcotics.
After being read her rights, Lynn told the deputy that she crushes pain medication, melts it down in a spoon and squirts the liquid under her mother’s tongue, the report says. When asked about the marks on her right arm, Lynn said she “sometimes melts the pills and injects them intravenously with the syringes.”
During a search of Lynn’s vehicle, the deputy found a pink pill inscribed with M 1010, which was later identified as Oxymorphone Hydrochloride 10mg, and several yellow capsules inscribed with SG 180, which were identified Gabapentin 300mg.
The deputy also found more syringes, a pill crusher with a large amount of pink-and-white powder residue and a large, burned metal spoon with white residue.
When asked about the items, Lynn “admitted to using the contraband to inject the controlled substances into her body,” the report says.
Lynn was taken into custody and transported to the Marion County Jail, where she was charged with possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug equipment and driving while license suspended (second offense). She was being held on $4,000 bond.