A homeless woman in Fruitland Park was arrested on drug charges for the third time in six months after police discovered pills in her pocket.
An officer spotted a bicyclist, later identified as 38-year-old Amber Nichole Morales, crossing the intersection of U.S. Highway 27/441 during a redlight around 9:16 p.m. Saturday, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. The officer stopped Morales to explain the violation, and she responded by saying she “was not paying attention.”
Due to previous interactions with Morales, the officer was familiar with her use of narcotics. He asked if she had anything of concern on her to which she advised she had marijuana “roaches,” which the officer knew to be the end of a marijuana cigarette, and “containers that contain things.” She also stated that she did not have a medical marijuana card and that the containers had residue, the report said.
This led to the officer conducting a probable cause search of Morales. He found a black metal smoking device and several marijuana “roaches” inside her left pant pocket and two loose white oblong pills bearing “EB.” A search in a pill identifier had no matches, the report said.
Morales advised she did not know what kind of pills they were then later stated they were Mucinex despite having four packaged orange Mucinex pills labeled within her pocket. She explained they were given to her by someone at an undisclosed address on Hobby Way, a known narcotics residence. The pills later tested positive for heroin, the report said.
Inside Morales’ backpack, the officer found a clear plastic container with white powder residue. This later tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine. Additional items of paraphernalia were also located, including a grinder, multiple pieces of burnt aluminum foil and a straw with residue, the report said.
The report noted that Morales was arrested in November and December 2023, both times for narcotics, making this her third arrest within six months. She was also out on pretrial release at the time of these offenses, the report said.
Morales was ultimately charged with possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia. She was transported to the Lake County Jail with bond set at $3,000.
