A Walnut Hill woman was arrested Oct. 3 and faces drug charges when law enforcement searched her vehicle after the driver was arrested for driving while license is suspended and the car was searched.
Helen Joann Whitman, 51, 6089 Goodale Ln., was a passenger in the back seat of her own car when law enforcement observed the white Honda Accord pull into the driveway of a vacant house for sale at 5601 Pine Forest Road and pulled in behind, according to an Escambia County Sheriff's Office report.
The driver of the Honda was arrested for driving while license is suspended. Whitman exited the vehicle and walked to the front of the vehicle, then turned and waked towards a shed beside the house, as if she was trying to conceal or discard something on her person, according to the report.
As officers were searching the vehicle, they observed the smell of a burnt like chemical inside the vehicle, which appeared to be covered by a strong flower fragrance and burnt ashes throughout the car, the report said.
When officers made contact with Whitman, an in-car computer check revealed she had recently been arrested for felony narcotics. The report said a search was conducted of the vehicle and a red and white purse was located on the seat where Whitman had been seated. Inside the purse, officers discovered a Punch Studio fake book which contained a plastic bag containing a white crystal-like substance which field tested positive for methamphetamine, along with two glass smoking pipes with residue.
Another deputy on the scene searched the vehicle and discovered a small clear plastic container with a brown liquid located inside a coin purse. The deputy advised the coin purse was found inside a large purse which was sitting on the front passenger side floorboard, the report noted.
Whitman was arrested and charged with felony possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession of drug paraphernalia, transported to the Escambia County Jail and was given a bond of $3,000.
