She was arrested for having pot. What fell out of her bra got her in more trouble
A Bradenton woman arrested on misdemeanor drug charges now faces felony charges after bringing more drugs to jail with her, deputies say.
On Tuesday afternoon, Manatee County sheriff’s deputies responded to a call in the 5400 block of First Avenue East regarding an unconscious female in a vehicle parked across multiple spaces.
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies identified a tan Volvo SUV backed into a parking area in front of an apartment complex. A woman in the driver’s seat, later identified as Natalie Wasserstein, 38, was found with her eyes closed and windows to the car partially down.
Deputies observed “a clear glass pipe with a stem and a bowl” and a Bic-style lighter in Wasserstein’s lap, the affidavit says. She was startled awake by static on a deputy’s radio and tried to conceal the items in her hand.
A search of the vehicle revealed one gram of marijuana in a plastic baggy, another glass smoking pipe with burnt residue inside and a silver spoon with burnt residue on it, the affidavit says.
Asked what was inside the pipe, Wasserstein told deputies, “It’s meth but it’s not mine.” She said a friend called her and asked her to look for the pipe and the lighter in her car and she fell asleep once she found them.
Wasserstein denied ownership of the meth pipe but said “the weed and the pipe” were hers, according to the affidavit. She was charged with possession of cannabis and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Once she was booked at the Manatee County Jail, deputies found 1.5 grams of methamphetamine inside a small Ziploc-style baggie after it fell from her chest area. Wasserstein told deputies she forgot about the drugs in her bra and that she was sorry.
Wasserstein was additionally charged with felony drug possession and introducing contraband into a detention facility. She remains in custody on a $4,000 bond.
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This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 1:33 PM.