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Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Leesburg woman caught with drugs with children in vehicle

Michelle Nicole Harbin
Michelle Nicole Harbin

A Leesburg woman was arrested on drug charges in Eustis on Sunday night with her two children in the back seat of her vehicle.

Michelle Nicole Harbin, 36, of 12019 Mary Lane, was charged with possession of methamphetamine after being pulled over on South Bay Street for her vehicle having its white reverse lights on and emitting to the rear. Harbin told the Eustis Police officer who stopped her that she was notified by a driver earlier about the same issue, according to the police report.

The officer observed Harbin’s boyfriend in the front passenger seat and her two children – ages 13 and 8 – were in the back seat. Harbin appeared nervous and had a hard time maintaining eye contact while talking to the officer, the report said.

The officer asked if there was anything illegal like weapons or drugs in her vehicle, and Harbin said no. When asked if she would consent to a search of the vehicle, she said there was nothing illegal inside the car. The officer asked Harbin again if he could search the vehicle and she hesitated before saying yes, according to the report.

A police K9 partner, Mya, conducted an open-air search of the vehicle and gave a positive response at the front driver’s-side door. The officer searched the vehicle and found two orange pills in Harbin’s purse. The pills were wrapped up in a baggie with the markings of “b 973/20,” which helped identify them as Amphetamine. Harbin said the pills are prescribed to her youngest son and she had a prescription on her phone, the report said.

The officer continued to search the vehicle and found in the center dash another clear baggie containing a crystalized substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine. Harbin said the substance was not hers and that it belonged to her boyfriend. Her boyfriend said the meth was not his and that he believed it belonged to Harbin, according to the report.

The officer continued searching the vehicle and found a very small marijuana “roach” in the center ash tray and in the rear passenger-seat door ash tray, near where Harbin’s 13-year-old daughter was sitting. The officer asked Harbin if she used methamphetamine and she said no. She said her ex-husband had used the vehicle earlier in the day and the drugs could possibly be his, the report said.

Asked if he had been with Hardin all day, her boyfriend said yes. He said she has had the vehicle all day and her ex-husband rarely drove the vehicle. During the investigation, the officer learned that Harbin is currently out on bond for possession of methamphetamine and possession of amphetamine pills, according to the report.

Asked again if she used methamphetamine, Harbin said has in the past but not since her arrest in July 2020. She was acting very nervously throughout the investigation while her boyfriend seemed genuinely surprised he was in handcuffs. Harbin’s boyfriend admitted to smoking marijuana from time to time. He was very cooperative and was even willing to provide a written statement against Harbin, the report said.

Based on the physical evidence and the inconsistencies within Harbin’s story, she was placed under arrest and taken to the Lake County Jail. Her boyfriend was released at the scene and her parents came and got the children, according to the report.

Harbin was taken to the Lake County Jail, where she was released Sunday night on $2,000 bond. She is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on May 3.

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