Teh One Who Knocks
07-16-2012, 03:26 PM
STAFF REPORTS / NW Florida Daily News
FORT WALTON BEACH - A woman who claimed she had nothing to do with the theft of some cash and allowed a Fort Walton Beach Police officer to search her purse was arrested for possession of cocaine, marijuana, drug equipment - and the cash.
On June 28 officers was called to the International Lounge by the owner, who said $200 in cash had been stolen from his wife's purse, which she'd left in a compartment behind the bar. He named a possible suspect.
When an officer questioned the suspect, 47-year-old Sandra Phelps of Fort Walton Beach, about the theft, she said the accusation was absurd and she knew nothing about the theft. The officer asked how much money she had in her possession; she told him about $50. She then handed her purse to the officer and said he could search it.
The officer found $177 in cash scattered among the purse's main compartment. He also found a red straw with white powder residue inside, and a canister which contained a white, powdery substance. A later search yielded a joint inside a pack of cigarettes.
A security camera showed Phelps going behind the bar and grabbing the victim's purse and rummaging through its contents.
The powdery substance and joint field-tested positive for cocaine and marijuana.
Phelps was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of cannabis, possession of paraphernalia, and petit theft.
Her court date is Aug. 7.
FORT WALTON BEACH - A woman who claimed she had nothing to do with the theft of some cash and allowed a Fort Walton Beach Police officer to search her purse was arrested for possession of cocaine, marijuana, drug equipment - and the cash.
On June 28 officers was called to the International Lounge by the owner, who said $200 in cash had been stolen from his wife's purse, which she'd left in a compartment behind the bar. He named a possible suspect.
When an officer questioned the suspect, 47-year-old Sandra Phelps of Fort Walton Beach, about the theft, she said the accusation was absurd and she knew nothing about the theft. The officer asked how much money she had in her possession; she told him about $50. She then handed her purse to the officer and said he could search it.
The officer found $177 in cash scattered among the purse's main compartment. He also found a red straw with white powder residue inside, and a canister which contained a white, powdery substance. A later search yielded a joint inside a pack of cigarettes.
A security camera showed Phelps going behind the bar and grabbing the victim's purse and rummaging through its contents.
The powdery substance and joint field-tested positive for cocaine and marijuana.
Phelps was charged with possession of cocaine, possession of cannabis, possession of paraphernalia, and petit theft.
Her court date is Aug. 7.