EPD: Multiple drugs found in woman's backpack

HENDERSON, Ky (WEHT) – An Evansville woman is in custody after police say they found multiple drugs and other items in a backpack.

Police state on September 8, at around 2 a.m., officers were at the Thornton’s gas station at Bellmeade Avenue and South Green River Road. Police state a woman, later identified as Sarah Pruitt, 25, was in the gas station when she saw officers and immediately went into the bathroom and didn’t come out for ten minutes. Officers found this odd and added she was carrying a large drawstring backpack.

Police say officers observed Pruitt walking ‘aimlessly’ around the parking lot before getting into a vehicle.

A traffic stop was made after officers observed the vehicle failing to use a turn signal. When officers made contact with the driver, they noticed Pruitt was acting suspiciously and refusing to look at officers.

Officers later discovered Pruitt had an active warrant out of Warrick County. After placing Pruitt into custody, officers noticed the bag was in the passenger seat floorboard. Police say the following items were found in the bag after search:

A blue tin container with the following items in it:
- Several pieces of foil with burnt residue
- Three cut plastic straws with residue
- Two small baggies with residue
- Folded piece of foil container a blueish white powder, Fentanyl+, .52 grams
- Unknown white powder, 3.21 grams
- Folded piece of foil containing an unknown white powder, .2 grams
- Folded piece of foil containing a crystal-like substance, .15 grams
One scale
Rolling papers
Two glass pipes with residue
Prescription pill bottle containing 21 generic Seroquel XR pills for a named “Matthew Marshall”
Two unidentified red pills with no imprint
28 ibuprofen with no container
Large bag containing an unknown white powder, 20.59 grams
Two cell phones

Police also state Pruitt openly admitted to having meth in her bra. After another search officers found two bags of a crystal-like substance wrapped in plastic, .63 grams and 2.07 grams and another cell phone.

Police stated Pruitt initially denied any ownership of the bag and stated she just found it and picked it up, but later stated it was her bag. When asked about the large bag of white powder, Pruitt stated it was powdered sugar used to cut heroin with.

Officers said the powder looked very similar to other narcotics, and Pruitt allegedly stated the drugs found on her would be methamphetamines, and officers would find fentanyl and heroin in her bag. After transport to the Vanderburgh County Jail, Pruitt said the unknown powder was Mannitol, and it was used to cut heroin.

Pruitt is charged with the following: