ST PETERSBURG - St. Petersburg Police responded to a complaint of drug use behind a business on Monday morning. When they arrived, the officers observed a man and a woman smoking a substance in a pipe they were sharing.
The officers detained both the man and the woman and processed the pipe and drugs in their immediate possession.
Branda Meeks was charged with possession of a controlled substance along with William Rizzo. Both were then taken to the Pinellas County Jail.
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What we know:
The detention staff at the Pinellas County Jail screen every incoming inmate for weapons and illegal substances.
As Meeks was being processed, the detention staff discovered that she had stashed a metal push rod in her bra.
According to the arrest affidavit, the push rod had drug residue and was consistent with being used to pack a crack pipe. It was noted in the report that Meeks and her co-defendant had used a crack pipe in the original arrest.
The discovery of the push rod wasn’t the only thing found by the detention deputies.
Courtesy: Pinellas County Sheriff's Office
Due to the discovery of contraband, Meeks was subjected to a strip search.
That’s when deputies found that she was concealing more drugs in a baggie hidden inside her vagina.
Deputies recovered the baggie and submitted it as evidence for drug testing.
Meeks was charged with Introducing Contraband into a Detention Facility in addition to her other charges.
What's next:
Branda Meeks appeared in court on each of the charges on Tuesday and was assigned a public defender. She is currently being held under $6,000 bond while awaiting trial.
The Source: This story was written based on the arrest affidavits for Brand Meeks and William Rizzo as submitted by the St. Petersburg Police Department.