A 33-year-old woman is facing a felony charge for drug trafficking after a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy found four grams of fentanyl during a traffic stop in Ocklawaha.
On Sunday, September 11, an MCSO deputy, along with a deputy trainee, conducted a traffic stop on a Chevrolet car that was traveling on SE 95th Street Road. The MCSO report indicates that the driver of the vehicle had a suspended Florida driver’s license.
A passenger, identified as Brittany Cherie West, was also inside the vehicle.
According to the MCSO report, the deputy began speaking with the unidentified male driver when a blue cut straw with a white powdery residue was observed “in plain view” inside the vehicle. The deputy collected the straw and the residue field-tested positive for fentanyl.
The driver and West both exited the vehicle. The MCSO report indicates that multiple plastic baggies were observed on the passenger seat where West had been sitting.
A folding metal container was also spotted on the passenger’s side of the vehicle. The deputy opened the container, and a small yellow rock-like substance was found inside. This substance field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
The deputy noted in the report that nothing was found on the driver’s side of the vehicle.
After being read his Miranda rights, the driver told the deputy that he did not know where the straw containing the residue had come from. He claimed that he accidentally picked it up from the passenger’s side while searching for a lighter.
West was read her Miranda rights, and she agreed to speak with the deputy. She admitted that the methamphetamine and blue straw belonged to her, and she advised that additional narcotics were “in her pants.”
A white crystal-like substance was recovered from West’s pants, and it field-tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine.
Inside the MCSO evidence room, the deputy weighed the substances that were recovered from West. The white powder that tested positive for fentanyl had a total weight of four grams, and the white crystal-like substance that was recovered from West’s pants weighed a total of three grams.
West was arrested and transported to Marion County Jail where she is currently being held on $28,000 bond. She is facing felony charges for trafficking in fentanyl (four grams or more) and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, along with a misdemeanor charge for possession of drug paraphernalia.
A court date has been scheduled on Tuesday, October 18 at 9 a.m., according to jail records.