An Abingdon woman was arrested Wednesday on multiple drug charges after police officers were called out for a suspicious, parked vehicle.
According to police reports, officers attempted to make contact with a sleeping driver of an orange 2003 Saturn SUV at around 10:57 p.m. at the Shell gas station at 1975 Grand Avenue in Galesburg.
36-year-old Casey A. Ashby was asleep behind the wheel of the vehicle – which was parked and turned off – with a 7-year-old juvenile passenger asleep in the front passenger seat.
She allegedly told officers she was driving back from Florida when she got tired, parked, and fell asleep. She also told officers the vehicle’s battery was dead, and she had not called anyone to assist her in getting home or jumping the vehicle.
According to the reports, Ashby gave officers the impression she was confused – mistakenly telling them she was driving a PT Cruiser given to her by her ex father-in-law.
When asked about the registered owner of the SUV, she realized which vehicle she was driving.
Officer’s contacted the ex father-in-law, who informed them that Ashby had a history of substance abuse.
Galesburg police had her perform a sobriety test, which she passed, and agreed to have the vehicle searched.
Officers found two baggies of suspected methamphetamine – weighing at less than 2 grams, and a baggie of suspected Tramadol found in her wallet.
One of those baggies field tested positive as meth.
She was taken to the Knox County Jail for processing. The child was taken to the Public Safety Building to wait for a family member.
The suspected meth was sent to the Illinois State Police crime lab for furthor testing.
She is being charged with two counts of Possession of a Controlled Substance – a Class 4 felony – as well as one count of a Class 3 felony of Possession of less than 5 grams of Methamphetamine.
Court records indicate that Ashby was making her first appearance in court Friday morning.
Court records also show that she had plead guilty in 2012 to unlawful possession of methamphetamine, a Class 3 felony.
