Seat belts were the tip-off. Steven Shrowder and Cristina Hersh weren’t wearing them as they drove north on I-95 Wednesday around noon in their Blue Chrysler, just past the intersection with State Road 100 in Palm Coast. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper caught sight of them and stopped them.
The trooper immediately noticed a very strong odor of marijuana spilling out of the car. Shrowder, 24, a resident of Winterwood Circle in Jacksonville, looked nervous to the trooper. That “led me to believe that criminal activity was taking place,” the trooper wrote in his report. When reinforcements arrived, the troopers asked to search the vehicle. The occupants denied permission–which is within their right. So troopers summoned a K-9 unit to sniff around the car–also within the police’s authority.
The dog, “Chaos,” zeroed in on the driver’s side and the passenger door. Hersh, 28, a resident of Cedar Point Road in Jacksonville, and Shrowder were arrested and placed in the back of a cruiser while a third individual who was with them, Stacy Mixon, 27, address unknown, was left outside the cruiser. While in the backseat, Hersh, according to a video camera a trooper reviewed, looked as if she was stuffing soemthing in her pants. She was taken out of the cruiser. Troopers discovered several prescription pills she was trying to hide.
The Chrysler was then searched. Several pill bottles and marijuana residue were discovered. The pills inside the bottles did not correspond with the prescription information. Rather, it contained 142 20-gram pills of roxicodone, a narcotic pain reliever, along with a percocet and a hydrocodone pill. The couple was taken to the Flagler County jail and charged with trafficking oxycodone, possessing of a controlled substance without a prescription, and in Hersh’s case, resisting arrest without violence and manufacturing methamphetamine. Shrowder was also charged with owning a structure or a vehicle used to traffic drugs. Bond was set at $13,000 for Shrowder, $11,500 for Hersh. They both posted bond. Mixon was not arrested.
Hunters Ridge Burglars Arrested
Police received a tip that a subject was seen riding the stolen motorcycle near his home in the Ormond Green subdivision. Investigators contacted the 17 year old suspect at his home. The juvenile confessed to committing the burglaries and also implicated an 18 year old Holly Hill man in the crimes. The adult, Nicholas Little, was found with the stolen motorcycle when police caught up to him later Monday. Little initially fled from officers but was apprehended. He is cooperating with investigators now and led them to the recovery of a large amount of stolen property.
Police have not been able to identify the owners of a sizable amount of the recovered property and believe there were other unreported cases.
Little is currently in custody at the branch jail on multiple felonies. Charges are pending on the juvenile for the same crimes.
The investigation is continuing.
GoodFella says
The truth to a search of a vehicle is that you can deny access but the police will always win so dont even bother. The dogs are trained to sit at command at any given point giving the police the right to search your vehicle. Their have been numerous accounts where a police dog has declared narcotics in a vehicle and none have been found. Its a trick that most of the police use. Just a FYI.
Geezer says
Cristina Hersh and Steven Shrowder (as shown in picture above) look as if they’re
at the hair stylist awaiting shampooing and a hair cut.
I’ll bet that FCSO buys those black smocks at a local beauty supply.