Woman found with marijuana at courthouse
By Lee Williams
Published in News on September 25, 2006 1:52 PM
A Pikeville woman found out the hard way Thursday that it's not OK to bring drugs into the Wayne County Courthouse.
Tosha Casey Santos, 27, of Cougar Lane, faces charges of possession of less than an ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia following a run-in with police about 10:50 a.m. Thursday.
According to officials, Ms. Santos handed her purse to a security guard before passing through the security stand. The security guard checked her purse and allegedly found a homemade marijuana pipe made with aluminum foil and black electrical tape, officials said.
The security guard told Santos to pass through the checkpoint entryway and wait. He then called the Goldsboro police.
The responding officer questioned Ms. Santos, who was with a 3-year-old child, about the contraband. The officer told her that he knew she had a marijuana pipe. He asked Ms. Santos if there was anything else in her purse that he should know about before he searched it, officials said.
Ms. Santos said "No," officials said.
The officer unzipped the front pocket on her handbag and pulled out a small bag of marijuana. Ms. Santos was given a ticket and ordered to come to court 9 a.m. Oct. 19 to answer the charges.
Courthouse security guards said they are amazed by the number of people who try to enter the courthouse with drugs in their possession.
One security guard said a man put his crack pipe and crack cocaine in a bowl, which is typically used for patrons to put keys, cell phones or loose coins while passing through the security checkpoint. The guard stated the man seemed surprised when he was questioned about it.
"He thought we were going to overlook that," the security guard said.