A 21-year-old Leesburg woman was arrested on drug charges recently after the car she was riding in was stopped in Eustis for having its windows tinted too dark.
Melissa Ann O’Neill, of 33931 Lee Ave., was charged with possession of fentanyl, possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, and violating her probation for a prior conviction for meth possession. O’Neill was in the front passenger seat of a black vehicle pulled over by a Eustis Police officer after coming out of the Southern Palms RV Park and turning onto County Road 44.
The officer measured the tinting on the vehicles windows and confirmed it was illegal. The driver said he didn’t have his license in his possession and provided his name. The officer also asked O’Neill if she had any identification with her and she said no. O’Neill appeared very nervous as she provided her name and address. She wouldn’t maintain eye contact, continually looked down when speaking and spoke so softly it was hard to understand her, according to the police report.
Another officer arrived at the scene to help with the investigation, and while he was standing by the vehicle, he saw O’Neill text someone, “I’m going to jail.” Both the driver and O’Neill said they do not have medical marijuana cards. A drug-sniffing dog conducted an open-air sniff around the vehicle and detected the presence of narcotics, the report said.
O’Neill, who had an open warrant for violation of probation, was placed under arrest. The driver of the vehicle told the officer that O’Neill told him she was “dirty” when they were being pulled over. He said the illegal substance would be underneath O’Neill’s seat and in the center console, according to the report.
The officer searched the vehicle and found a syringe, a plastic bag containing a crystalized substance, and two cellophane wrappers containing two folded pieces of foil under the seat. The crystalized substance tested positive for methamphetamine, while the liquid in the syringe tested positive for methamphetamine and heroin/fentanyl. The officer opened the foil in each cellophane wrapper and found a white powder substance that tested positive for fentanyl, the report said.
Inside a glasses case in the center console were three syringes, two of which contained a clear liquid substance, and another black plastic bag containing a crystalized substance. The liquid and the crystals tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the report.
The driver and O’Neill were both read their Miranda warnings. The driver said he and O’Neill had left the Fish Games in Dona Vista and had dropped off a friend named “Jolly” at the RV park. He said O’Neill has been battling a drug problem for some time. The driver said just prior to him pulling over for the traffic stop, O’Neill told him to keep driving because she had illegal narcotics. Asked where Jolly had been sitting, the driver said he was in the back driver’s side seat, the report said.
O’Neill told the officer she was sitting in the back seat when Jolly was in the vehicle and the drugs were not hers. She said she has used heroin and methamphetamine in the past. Due to the fact the drugs were in a glasses case and O’Neill was the only person wearing prescription eyeglasses, she was charged with possession of the methamphetamine, fentanyl and syringes, according to the report.
O’Neill was taken to the Lake County Jail, where she was held on $5,000 bond. She’s scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on March 29. The driver of the vehicle was issued a warning for the illegal window tint.
