Burnham woman arrested after pot found

BURNHAM – A routine check on the welfare of a local woman led to her arrest Sunday on drug charges.

Stephanie Jones, 41, of South Horseback Road was arrested and charged with marijuana cultivation, possession of cocaine, possession of prescription drugs and possession of drug paraphernalia. She was booked at the Waldo County Jail where bail was set at $450.

Waldo County Deputy Merl Reed said the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department requested a check on Jones’ well-being Sunday morning after her vehicle was found damaged in Starks. Reed said he arrived at the Jones residence at approximately 10:30 a.m., and when no one responded to his knock at the door, he walked around back and observed marijuana plants growing in pots at the rear of the trailer.

“I immediately secured the residence, called Detective Matt Curtis and went to get a search warrant,” Reed said.

Reed said Curtis, Deputies Daniel Thompson and Glen Graef and State Trooper Elisha Fowlie arrived at the scene and waited for him to return from Belfast with the warrant. He said officers could hear two pit bulls barking from inside the home when they knocked on the door.

Reed said that when he arrived with the warrant at 2 p.m., he and the other officers were surprised to see Jones suddenly walk out the door.

“She said she was a heavy sleeper,” Reed said.

The subsequent search yielded more marijuana, cocaine residue, drug pipes and other paraphernalia and equipment for processing and growing marijuana. Jones was arrested and taken to the jail without incident.

Reed added that when he notified Somerset County authorities that he had located Jones and had taken her to jail, they informed him they intended to charge her with leaving the scene of an accident and failure to report an accident.

“She’s being charged by Somerset, too,” he said.