A woman was arrested Wednesday for possession of narcotics during a traffic stop.
An officer watched a white Infiniti passenger car fail to make a stop at the intersection of South Dixie Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue at around 8:12 p.m. Wednesday, according to an arrest report from the Fruitland Park Police Department.
Officers initiated a traffic stop and identified 66-year-old Debra Lee Shappy. Her vehicle was spotted earlier at a residence known to Fruitland Park police to be prevalent with the use and distribution of narcotics. However, both Shappy and the passenger denied being in possession of anything illegal and denied consent to search the vehicle, the report said.
While completing necessary checks on the occupants, the sergeant asked his partner to return to the vehicle, the report said. He had seen multiple baggies of suspected methamphetamine in Shappy’s hand. Both officers then opened the driver’s side door and asked Shappy to give them the items in her hand, from which they obtained multiple baggies containing a crystalized substance. The bags were placed on the trunk, and Shappy was placed in handcuffs for further investigation.
An inspection of the bags revealed two baggies containing a crystalized substance and two baggies containing a white powdered substance, which would later test positive for methamphetamine and fentanyl. Shappy admitted to being in possession of the narcotics and informed the officers of an additional bag of methamphetamine in her pant pocket, the report said.
Shappy had been arrested before in February 2015 for giving police a false name and again that same year in August for failing to appear on charges of petit theft with two prior convictions.
The New York native was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine and fentanyl. She was transported to the Lake County Jail and released after posting $4,000 bond.