A Lady Lake woman was arrested on drug charges after the discovery of fentanyl in her purse and a cooler during a traffic stop.
An officer was traveling south on Rose Avenue when he encountered 32-year-old Sadie Bianca Salisbury in a red Ford Expedition around 1:15 a.m. Tuesday, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department.
The vehicle’s right taillight was defective and shone white instead of red. When the male driver hit the brakes, the taillight became extremely bright. As the officer took note of this, the vehicle’s front wheels passed over a stop bar at the intersection with Berckman Street, the report said.
The officer subsequently stopped the vehicle and asked both occupants to exit while the driver searched for his insurance on his phone. Meanwhile, a K-9 was led around the vehicle and positively alerted to the odor of narcotics. This meant the officer had probable cause to search the vehicle, the report said.
He first found a metal screwdriver with an unknown residue on it in the front pocket of a purse where Salisbury’s feet had been. In the same purse was a piece of cotton. These items were commonly used with narcotics, the report said.
In the center console pocket sat a metal container with a small baggie of residual fentanyl. A small cooler on the floorboard contained ice, water, unopened cans of Mountain Dew, a piece of rolled tin foil and the body of a ballpoint pen. The latter two items contained fentanyl, the report said.
When asked about the foil, Salisbury stated it belonged to a woman who had been in her vehicle earlier that day. She admitted it was hers a few seconds later. She later stated the driver had been helping her with sobriety, the report said.
Salisbury was arrested on charges of possession of fentanyl, tampering with evidence and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was booked at the Lake County Jail and released after posting $6,000 bond.