Police recently arrested a Minnesota woman on suspicion of using drugs in the presence of a minor. The case may be difficult to prosecute, however, due to the fact that the incident was reported by a passerby, and was not directly observed by officers. In addition, the drug crime arrest was made some time after the alleged drug use, and in a different location.
The incident began when an individual called police to report a woman smoking drugs in a McDonald’s parking lot. The man stated that he observed the woman from his own parked vehicle, and that it appeared as if she were smoking methamphetamine while a teenager was sitting within her vehicle. When police arrived, the car was no longer there, but the man who reported the incident was able to provide the vehicle’s description and license plate information.
Police tracked the registration down, and went to the woman’s home. At that point, officers felt that the woman was intoxicated, and searched her vehicle. They allegedly recovered two glass pipes and a plastic bag containing just over a gram of methamphetamine. She was arrested on an outstanding warrant unrelated to this matter.
The Minnesota woman now faces charges of methamphetamine crimes involving children, as well as possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. Should she be convicted of the drug crime accusations, she would face the maximum sentence of 10 years prison time as well as up to $20,000. There is no word on whether the child seen in her vehicle is her own, but if so, she could also face the loss of her custody rights in addition to any criminal consequences.
Source: CBS Minnesota, “Charges: Woman Smoked Meth At McDonald’s With Kid In Car“, Nov. 14, 2014