A Villager’s daughter has been brought back from prison to face local drug charges.
Melinda Susan Philbrook, 48, a former resident of the Village of St. Charles was transported from the Florida Department of Corrections to the Sumter County Jail. She is scheduled to appear in Sumter County Court on Wednesday for a plea hearing.
Philbrook is currently serving a prison term in connection with an Indian River County case in which she was convicted of arson. She had conspired to burn a pickup in a scheme to collect an insurance payout. Two of her co-conspirators dumped gasoline on the truck, but one of them suffered severe burns when they lit a match. He was treated at an Orlando hospital for burns to his head, arms, and legs.
She was living with her mother last year in The Villages when she was taken into custody on a probation violation. When she was taken into custody and prior to booking at the Sumter County Detention Center, she was asked if she had any contraband. She said she did not possess any contraband.
However, when a probation officer searched Philbrook’s purse, which was located in a waiting room with her boyfriend, several drugs were found including gabapentin, latuna, mirtazapine, paroxetine hydrochloride, quetiapine fumarate and buspirone hyrdochloride. The drug diazepam, a Schedule IV controlled substance was also found in her purse. None of the pills were in prescription bottles.
She was booked without bond.
She is scheduled to be released from prison in 2025 in the Indian River arson case.
