FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. — A Daytona Beach woman was arrested Sunday after deputies said a traffic stop on Interstate 95 led them to discover methamphetamine and a stolen vehicle.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said deputies were alerted just after midnight to a vehicle whose registered owner had a suspended driver’s license.
Deputies located the vehicle near mile marker 289 in Palm Coast and conducted a traffic stop.
Investigators said the driver, 45-year-old Suntisha Cochrane, was not the registered owner of the vehicle. Deputies also determined her driver’s license was suspended.
While speaking with Cochrane, deputies said they noticed a bulge beneath her sports bra. They later determined it was a plastic bag containing methamphetamine, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies contacted the vehicle’s owner, who told investigators Cochrane had been given permission to use the vehicle earlier in the week but had failed to return it.
The owner said he had attempted to report the vehicle stolen in Volusia County and still wanted it reported stolen.
According to deputies, Cochrane later admitted she was not supposed to have the vehicle and said she was leaving Florida for Tennessee.
Cochrane was arrested on charges of driving with a suspended license, possession of methamphetamine and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
She was taken to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, where the sheriff’s office said she was being held on $4,500 bond.
“This was a great job by deputies by looking beyond the traffic stop to determine the vehicle was actually stolen and she was in possession of meth,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Now instead of a nice drive to the Volunteer State, she got an unvoluntary ride to the Green Roof Inn.”
The sheriff’s office said Cochrane has been arrested a dozen times previously in three states on charges including DUI, reckless driving, burglary, petit theft, possession of a controlled substance, assault, offering to commit prostitution and violation of probation.
Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.