The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
An officer from the Largo Police Department was in the middle of an investigation when he asked the woman he was speaking with, 52-year-old Dariel Hutton, to search her purse for the automobile keys that she said she had misplaced and she reportedly requested that another officer perform the search through her bag.
Hutton allegedly began to look in her purse on her own and the officer was standing nearby as she shuffled through the contents trying to locate the keys when the officer reportedly noticed a glass item in the bag that raised his suspicion.
As reflected in the affidavit, the officer stated that he believed the object looked like a glass pipe with a piece of steel wool inside of it, “which is consistent with a crack pipe.” She was also accused of having a bag of white colored pills in her purse which she reportedly stated were ibuprofen.
The report further alleges that Hutton snatched the glass item out of her purse and stuck it inside of her mouth refusing all attempts that the officer made to get her to spit it out as he was placing her in handcuffs. She allegedly chewed the glass and then audibly swallowed causing the officer to assert that she had ingested the object. She also reportedly sported a bleeding wound on the roof of her mouth upon inspection.
Hutton was taken to Pinellas County Jail and she is suspected of tampering with physical evidence, resisting an officer without violence, and possession of a controlled substance. The possession charge is based on allegations that the pills found inside of Hutton’s purse were methadone and that she does not currently hold a prescription for that medication. She was ordered to remain incarcerated until she pays $4,150 bail.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a drug crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.