A Jefferson City woman was placed on five years supervised probation for pleading guilty to a drug charge from October 2017.
During a hearing before Cole County Judge Dan Green, Deborah S. Long, 57, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine). A misdemeanor charge of unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia was dismissed.
As part of her probation, Long must successfully complete an alternative court program.
A Jefferson City Police Department officer conducted a security patrol at America's Best Value Inn when the officer noticed an "odor of marijuana coming from the room," according to a probable cause statement.
All the subjects in the room were asked to exit, "and the owner of the room gave consent to search the entire room." The officer observed a purse on the room's only bed and saw "in plain view" the end of a glass smoking pipe.
The officer recovered the pipe and a wallet from the purse. Bank and identification cards inside the wallet belonged to Long. A "small bag of a crystal substance" was also in the wallet.
The officer had Long enter the room and informed her a bag had been located on the bed with the meth pipe and meth in it, at which point Long allegedly "spontaneously stated it was hers and the bag belonged to her. Further, she stated that was the only bag she had in the room and asked if she could bring it with her."