A Leesburg woman and her male companion were arrested when officers found various narcotics and needles in a bag during a traffic stop.
An officer observed silver Acura SUV, the occupants in which were later identified as 39-year-old Melissa Jo Grauer and 28-year-old Joshua Daven Kerr, fail to signal 100ft from the intersection of U.S. Hwy. 27/441 and Spring Lake Road around 6 p.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department. A truck pulling a trailer had to hit the brakes to avoid a collision.
The officer subsequently approached the vehicle and advised the occupants the reason for the stop. They retorted that they used a signal, to which the officer explained it was not within the required distance. It was about 5ft from the corner, causing the truck to hit its brakes to avoid a collision, the report said.
Kerr advised that he did not have a license and provided his ID card. The officer noted that both occupants, including Grauer as the front seat passenger, looked nervous. Their hands shook, they made inconsistent eye contact and they aimlessly reached around the vehicle, the report said.
This led the officer to ask for consent to search the vehicle, but he was denied. Based on the occupants’ behavior, he asked a K-9 unit to respond to the scene to sniff around the outside of the vehicle. The K-9 positively alerted to the odor of narcotics within the vehicle, and a probable cause search of its interior ensued, the report said.
On the passenger seat tucked next to the center console was a denim purse that the officer previously saw Grauer holding onto. The purse contained her wallet, which had her ID, cards in her name, used syringes and makeup products, the report said.
The purse also contained a handful of syringes and a cap with a piece of dried cotton, a common method of injecting narcotics. There was a black sunglasses case containing a glass smoking device with residue, a baggie bearing skulls with 0.43 grams of fentanyl, a plastic baggie with 0.25 grams of cocaine and a loaded syringe with 0.3 grams of fentanyl, the report said.
There were multiple tied-off baggies with residue, including one with 1.58 grams of fentanyl. Behind the passenger seat, the officer found a cloth eyeglass case containing a spoon, a cut straw, an empty dime bag and eight syringes, all with residue. A shoelace and an elastic band were in the bag, as well. A red bag had a needle with residue, a teaspoon measuring cup and a tied off plastic baggie containing 0.35 grams of methamphetamine, the report said.
At the beginning of the search, an already handcuffed Kerr, who was detained for the license charge, spontaneously stated that if there was something in the vehicle, it belonged to him. This is a common tactic used to protect another person from arrest, the report said.
Both occupants were later read their rights, to which both advised they understood and agreed to speak with law enforcement. Grauer first claimed that she knew about the illegal narcotics, stating she shared the bag with Kerr. She then changed her story to say he put them there when the officer initiated the traffic stop, the report said.
The report noted the purse was quite large and contained illicit items throughout, indicating they had been in the bag for quite some time. Grauer went on to say she would test positive for methamphetamine because she smoked five days ago, the report said.
Kerr was interviewed next, during which an officer asked when he put the items in the bag. He stated it was earlier that day when he got off work. The officer tried to get a timeline for the placement, as Kerr advised it was before the initiation of the stop, but Kerr gave vague answers. When asked where he was when he put in the narcotics, he advised “in the car.” Questioning was ceased due to Kerr giving vague answers and trying to protect Grauer, the report said.
Grauer was ultimately arrested for possession of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and drug paraphernalia. The Connecticut native was transported to Lake County Jail with bond set at $8,500.
Kerr was also arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and drug paraphernalia as well as knowingly driving while license revoked for habitual traffic offender. He was taken to jail with bond set at $13,500.