A Leesburg woman was arrested on drug charges when she was stopped on a bicycle with methamphetamine and cut straws in her backpack.
An officer was passed by a bicyclist traveling eastbound on County Road 466A around 10:28 p.m. Saturday, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. He noticed the bicycle did not have a rear light whatsoever, certainly not a red one.
The officer subsequently initiated a traffic stop on the bicyclist near Miller Street and Rose Avenue. He identified the male operator first and then the rear passenger, 61-year-old Patricia Ann Bray, the report said.
While speaking with the occupants, the officer observed Bray take off her backpack and put it on the ground to the left of the bicycle. The backpack was left open, and he saw a woman’s purse inside it. He asked if she would consent to a search of her backpack, which she granted, the report said.
During the search of the backpack, the officer removed a pink wallet, inside of which were two cut plastic straws. Both straws contained a crystallized substance believed to be methamphetamine. A silver metal rod was also found in the wallet and believed to be paraphernalia related to methamphetamine use, the report said.
The report noted the wallet also contained several plastic cards belonging to Bray. Inside of another zippered pouch was a gray pill container which was found to have several pieces of crystallized, rock-like substance identified as methamphetamine. A field test was conducted on the suspected methamphetamine, and it yielded a positive result for such.
The officer advised Bray of her rights, but she did not wish to speak with him or answer questions. However, she later admitted that the straws she had in her bag were hers, and she believed they would have her fingerprints on them, the report said.
Bray was arrested and charged for possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. The Virginia native was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $3,500.