A woman who lied about her true identity and then tried to smuggle drugs into the jail has been hit with smuggling charges.
The woman, Amanda M. Esslinger, 33, has been bound to the grand jury on charges of criminal impersonation, possession of meth, simple possession of drugs, and introduction of drugs into a penal institution.
She was arrested after the car in which she was a passenger was pulled over on Old Smithville Road after McMinnville policeman Brad Hall noticed the occupants were not wearing seatbelts. The officer said he asked her several times for an ID but she continued giving him false information until she finally broke down and gave him her Social Security number. He then made an identification and realized she was wanted on an outstanding warrant.
“I asked her before I put her in the backseat of the car if she had anything illegal concealed on her body,” the officer said, noting the suspect admitted she had a small amount of marijuana concealed in her bra.
However, it was learned when she underwent a search at the jail she had more than she claimed.
“She had a plastic bag concealed (inside her) that contained marijuana and two bags of a crystal substance believed to be methamphetamine,” Hall reported, adding the meth weighed four grams.
Along with being bound to the grand jury on her new charges, Esslinger was given 10 days in jail for failing to appear on a prior driving on a revoked license charge.