A homeless woman from Leesburg was arrested on drug trafficking charges early Tuesday after she was spotted leaving a known drug house in Fruitland Park.
Stephanie Shannon Kilby, 36, was charged with trafficking methamphetamine (14 or more grams), trafficking heroin, possession of a controlled substance (Xanax) without a prescription, possession of equipment used to manufacture or deliver drugs, and driving with a suspended or revoked license.
At around 1:30 a.m., a Lake County sheriff’s deputy was patrolling the area in the 3600 block of Palm Street and saw a red car in the driveway. Because the deputy was familiar with the residence being heavily involved with narcotics use, he remained in the area in case the vehicle left the property, according to the sheriff’s office report.
About a half hour later, the deputy saw the same red vehicle drive up to the stop sign at Ridge Road and Sunnyside Drive. The car stopped before making a right turn onto Ridge Road. When the vehicle turned, the deputy observed it did not have a working tag light. The deputy started following the vehicle, but it turned into the driveway of a residence on Eagles Nest Road, the report said.
When the deputy approached the vehicle, he could see a female in the driver’s seat, a male in the front passenger seat and a large dog in the back seat. Both the female and male were reclined in their seats to conceal themselves. Once the driver realized the deputy was shining a spotlight into her car, she got out of the vehicle. The male passenger followed shortly behind her, according to the report.
Asked why she quickly pulled into the driveway, the driver – who identified herself as Stephanie Kilby – said she was there to visit her friend, Jonathan. A check of Kilby’s driving record showed her license was suspended in May 2021. While the deputy was speaking with Kirby, the male passenger walked away, the report said.
The deputy approached the vehicle and saw a blue glasses case on the floorboard behind the driver’s seat. The tubular end of a “bubble” was protruding from the case. The deputy recognized this type of smoking device is commonly used to smoke methamphetamine, according to the report.
Meanwhile, another deputy knocked on the door of the home to ask the residents if they were expecting guests. The owner said he was asleep and not expecting anyone. He said he did not know Kilby, nor had he ever seen her, the report said.
With Kilby in custody, deputies prepared to search the vehicle, but the dog was in the back seat. Kilby tried multiple times to reach the male passenger who had left so he would come back and get the dog. He finally returned. Once it was determined he didn’t have any outstanding warrants, he was allowed to leave with the dog, according to the report.
Inside the vehicle, deputies found a bag containing a large number of clear crystals that tested positive for methamphetamine, a bag that contained a white powdery substance, and another bag containing five smaller bags of the same substance, which tested positive for heroin. Also found were baggies containing seven green pills (Xanax) and two orange pills (Adderall), the report said.
The large bag of crystal meth weighed about 50 grams on an uncertified scale. The first bag of heroin weighted 3.8 grams, and the other five baggies weighed 3.8 grams combined. Residue on the glass smoking device tested positive for methamphetamine. There also was a silver scale with residue, and four black cellphones like the ones commonly used by street-level drug dealers, according to the report.
Kilby was taken to the Lake County Jail, where she’s being held on $82,000 bond. She’ll appear in Lake County Court on June 13.
