A Villager’s daughter is headed back to prison after sentencing in a local arrest.
Melinda Susan Philbrook, 48, a former resident of the Village of St. Charles, earlier this month was transported from the Florida Department of Corrections to the Sumter County Jail. This past week, she appeared in Sumter County Court to answer to drug charges from 2022 when she was living with her mother in The Villages. Philbrook pleaded no contest to a charge of attempting to smuggle drugs into the Sumter County Detention Center. She was sentenced to 11 months, 22 days already served in jail. Two other drug charges were dismissed in exchange for her plea.
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.
Philbrook was at her mother’s house 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 is scheduled to be released from prison in 2025 in the Indian River arson case.