CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A routine dispatch to a gas station on East Main Street led to the arrest of a local woman. According to a witness, the driver was involved in an alleged “hand-to-hand exchange” drug transaction.
When officers arrived at the scene earlier this week, the driver, Andrea Holt, refused to comply with their requests and attempted to flee in her vehicle, police reported. One officer, reports say, grabbed the gear selector and the keys to prevent her from escaping. Other officers were able to enter the vehicle and apprehend Holt.
During the investigation, officers found that Holt had $510 cash. She claimed that the money was a combination of help from her grandmother and from the sale of her deceased niece’s belongings. However, the police seized the cash as evidence from the alleged drug buy that was reported.
An inventory of the vehicle revealed multiple prescription bottles, drug paraphernalia, marijuana, and suspected illegal narcotics.
A large number of clear sandwich bags were found in the console of the car and appeared to be the same as the bags that were used for all the substances bagged up in a white purse, including what was found inside Holt’s pill bottle.
Holt was advised of her Miranda Rights and charged with obstruction. She denied that the white purse was hers and only claimed ownership of a black purse. She was transported to the Ross County Jail.
All evidence was photographed. The two clear bags with clear and white-colored substances along with a partial pill was sent to BCI for testing.
The investigation, authorities stated, is pending lab results.