A 32-year-old Leesburg woman was charged with possession of methamphetamine almost exactly a year after being arrested for battering a law enforcement officer.
Brianna Darlene Klein, of 34951 Learn Road, was stopped by a Eustis police officer Saturday morning for not having any brake lights and for turning into Kars Mart, 1212 S. Bay St., without using a signal. The officer observed she was wearing her seat belt improperly, with it fastened behind her back. Klein said she the belt hurts her shoulder and fuse issue is why the brake lights don’t work, according to the police report.
The officer detected the distinct odor of marijuana emitting from inside the vehicle and asked Klein if she had a medical marijuana card. She said she loaned the car the previous day to someone who smokes marijuana. The officer asked Klein and her male passenger to step out of the vehicle and they did. The passenger raised his shirt and told the officer he had a knife in his pants. The officer asked the passenger to empty his pockets, and he placed the contents, including his wallet and ID, on the trunk of the car, the report said.
The passenger was identified as 36-year-old Joseph Mitchell Preston, of 929 Alibrandi Road in Leesburg. It was discovered that Preston had an active Lake County warrant, so he was placed under arrest, according to the report.
The officer told Klein he was going to search the vehicle, to which Klein replied, “I don’t care if you search the car.” The search revealed a green leafy substance throughout the vehicle’s floorboard. A camo bag on the backseat floor contained a green leafy substance that tested positive for marijuana. A pink bag in the center console area contained a pink makeup bag that held a glass vial containing a crystal-like substance that tested positive for methamphetamine. Also inside the bag containing the makeup bag also had bank cards with Klein’s full name on the front, the report said.
Klein said the makeup bag belonged to her but she didn’t know anything about the vial or methamphetamine being inside it. She said Preston must have put it inside the bag without her knowing and that the camo bag belonged to the man she loaned her car to the previous day. Preston denied any knowledge of the makeup bag and the vial, according to the report.
Klein was charged with possession of methamphetamine as well as two violations of her probation stemming from her arrest in August 2021 for battery on a law enforcement officer. She’s being held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Sept. 6.
