Mom found passed out in church parking lot with 3 kids, 'trafficking amount' of meth
By: -----
Palatka, FL - Police allegedly found a mother slumped over and asleep in her car, which was parked in a church parking lot, with three young children and a "trafficking amount" of methamphetamine in the car.
According to a release and body camera video from the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, a deputy noticed a car parked in a church parking lot on the night of May 3, and noticed it was still parked there when she circled the area later in the night.
Upon looking into the vehicle, the deputy reportedly noticed a woman and three small children asleep, ages ranging from less than 1 year old to 4 years old.
A probable cause affidavit said the deputy noticed blankets that had been hung between the front and back seats in such a way that the children could not see the woman, identified as their mother, and she could not see them.
The woman, identified by police as 33-year-old Amanda Burke, reportedly exited the vehicle when asked and admitted that there was marijuana in the car.
Authorities searched the vehicle and discovered marijuana and a black box with a glass pipe and multiple baggies of a white substance, per the release. A field test suggested the substance was methamphetamine, and police reportedly discovered 28.2 grams of it, a "trafficking amount."
Burkes allegedly told police that she and her children got food at McDonald's and were on their way to her brother's house when they pulled over to sleep. She reportedly said she did not know how long they had been sleeping. She claimed that the marijuana was hers, but that the black box was likely placed in her vehicle by her neighbor without her knowledge.
Burkes was arrested and charged with three counts of child neglect, trafficking in amphetamines, possession of a vehicle for drug activity, possession of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a place of worship, marijuana possession, and possession of drug equipment.