[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 05/19/20]
MOUNT DORA, Florida — Failure to dim high-beam headlights resulted in a trip to jail Sunday night for a Mount Dora woman and a Sanford man.
Chad H. Bobb and Hannah Ashante Howard are each facing charges after a Mount Dora Police officer pulled Bobb over for driving with his high-beam headlights on. According to an arrest affidavit, the officer was driving down U.S. Highway 441 with Bobb behind him; the officer slowed down in an attempt to let Bobb know his high-beam headlights were on. Bobb failed to switch his headlights, so the officer stopped him. Bobb was found to have a revoked license and the officer smelled a strong odor of marijuana, according to the affidavit. Another officer arrived and Bobb and his passenger, Howard, were asked to step out of the vehicle. Police searched Bobb and did not find anything but placed Bobb in the back of a patrol car, due to his history of fleeing, the arresting officer noted.
While officers searched the vehicle, Howard “kept reaching and grabbing her vaginal area,” the affidavit states. She denied having drugs, but then the officer “noticed bits of green leafy substance fall from her shorts near her vaginal area.” Howard finally admitted she had drugs and a female officer from Eustis Police Department arrived to search her. The female officer found marijuana in Howard’s back pocket and her vaginal area. Cocaine was found in a tube in her vaginal area and in a Newport cigarette pack, along with more than a gram of heroin. Howard also admitted having drugs in her anal cavity, according to the affidavit. She was given a cavity search at the Lake County Jail and found with 15.1 grams of MDMA. All the drugs were packaged for sale.
Bobb, 29, was arrested for driving while license suspended — as an habitual traffic offender. He was taken to the LCJ and released on $2,000 bond. Howard, 22, who had $1,300 in cash in her purse, was charged with trafficking in MDMA, possession of heroin, possession of cocaine, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence. She was released on $25,000 bond.
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
