The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Key West woman on Wednesday for drug possession after pulling her over for an expired vehicle registration.
Erica Cherie Palomino, 25, was charged with possession of amphetamine, possession of marijuana under 20 grams and possession of paraphernalia.
A deputy was traveling northbound on U.S. 1 around 1:45 a.m. behind a black Chevy Impala and decided to run the plates through MCSO’s system, which showed the Impala had an expired registration. The deputy conducted a traffic stop and approached the vehicle, where he met the driver and Palomino, who was in the passenger seat.
According to the report, the deputy decided to call KWPD’s K9 unit for an inspection of the vehicle. The K9 unit arrived and conducted an exterior sniff of the vehicle, with the K9 alerting to the presence of drugs.
A search of the vehicle revealed two glass pipes, .3 grams of amphetamine and approximately 2.5 grams of marijuana.
Much of the contraband was found near the driver, but he stated that it belonged to Palomino. Palomino told officers that the amphetamine was “Molly” and both it and the marijuana belonged to her for “personal use.”
Palomino was arrested and transported to the Monroe County Detention Center, where she was being held without bond.
Information in the Crime Report is obtained from reports provided by area law enforcement agencies.
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