CLEARFIELD – A local woman is being accused of trying to take pills and an eight-ball of methamphetamine into the Clearfield County Jail.
Amanda Ruth Moore, 35, of Clearfield is charged by Officer Elliott Neeper of the Lawrence Township police with felony contraband/controlled substance and possession of controlled substance-contraband inmate.
She’s also charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest (two counts), tampering with evidence, obstruction of administration of law/other government function, disorderly conduct (two counts) and intentional possession of a controlled substance, plus three summaries.
Moore waived her right to a preliminary hearing Wednesday during centralized court at the jail. She’s currently being held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, a report was received Jan. 9 about suspicious activity in the 100 block of Hill Street. A witness said individuals were going door to door trying to solicit and review electric bills for possible discounts.
As Neeper checked residences in the area of Spring and Brown streets, he observed a female with a stack of paperwork outside of an abandoned residence.
The officer turned his police unit around so he could approach the female; however, she was gone within seconds.
Neeper then exited to search for the female on foot. At the scene, he and Sgt. Julie Curry discovered footprints in the snow and followed them to an open door to a crawl space underneath the residence.
Because additional footprints were observed in the crawl space, the officers believed the female entered to avoid contact with police.
Neeper and Curry asked the female to come outside. After three attempts, the officers made entry and saw her hiding under insulation and tarp.
She was ordered multiple times to show her hands and exit the space, but she reportedly refused. She was also warned she’d be tased if her non-compliance continued.
Neeper was able to grab the female, at which point he saw her reach into her pants. She was ordered multiple times to remove her hands, but she refused.
The female had to be forcibly placed face down on the ground and her right hand removed from her pants, according to the affidavit.
She reportedly tried to reach for the inside of her waistband until she was placed into handcuffs. She was removed from the crawl space and positively identified as Moore.
The officers asked Moore why she was under the trailer, and she claimed to look for a cat. She was also asked about why she wouldn’t come out but didn’t respond.
Neeper said it appeared Moore was under the influence of a controlled substance because she rambled on rapidly. The officers also felt Moore’s body “twitching” and “flailing,” as they escorted her.
At the police unit, she continued to grab at her pants and Curry conducted a search. It was noted the officers neither located any drug-related items nor weapons, but that the search didn’t include the interior of Moore’s pants.
While restrained in the patrol unit, Moore continued to “flail” around and reach for her waistband. She had to be advised to cease all movement, police said.
During transport to the station for questioning, Neeper observed Moore reach into her waistband again, pulled over and contacted Curry to request another search.
Curry conducted the search with negative findings, but when Moore was placed back inside the patrol unit, she laid down to attempt to reach her waistband. The officers asked what she was doing and Moore claimed she was hiding from known drug dealers. Moore was then transported to county jail.
At this time, Moore was also asked if she had concealed any drugs because she would face felony charges if she was found in possession during the in-take process. She said no.
At the jail, she was subjected to a search by the female correctional staff, which discovered a lump in the crotch area of Moore’s pants. She was moved to a private cell for the purpose of a strip search, which allegedly turned up a small bag containing four orange pills and one blue pill.
An officer also suspected Moore had other contraband inside a body cavity, which she said Moore refused to remove herself.
Warden Greg Collins was summoned to the scene and directed for Moore to be transported to the Clearfield Penn Highlands Hospital to have the contraband removed.
Neeper and Curry collected the pills, which were later identified as amphetamine and dextroamphetamine and Clonazepam.
During the cavity examination at the hospital, Moore reportedly became combative and was observed with her handcuffed hands in her pants.
She was ordered to remove her hands, which she did and then a balloon-shaped object was observed in her hand. The object, however, went missing. Curry, with assistance of jail and hospital staff, conducted an “intensive” search of the examination room with negative findings.
Police said it’s presumed that Moore ate the object and because she wouldn’t cooperate, she was discharged from the hospital and transported back to the jail.
On Jan. 15, Neeper interviewed Moore about the events that occurred Jan. 9. She started out by apologizing for her actions saying she’d just used methamphetamine.
She said she wasn’t in the “right state of mind” when she saw the officers, which sent her into a panic and that was why she hid under the trailer.
She allegedly admitted to having concealed the pills and a bag containing an eight-ball of meth in her private area before her transport to the jail.
Moore said she didn’t really understand the severity of the contraband charge for taking drugs into the jail because she was under the influence.
She also allegedly admitted to having swallowed the bag of meth during a scuffle with medical staff at the hospital.
After she arrived at the jail, Moore said she realized what she’d done. At the time of the interview, she said she still hadn’t passed the bag of meth she’d swallowed.