Tommy D. Pruitt, 40, of Dayton, and 23-year-old Alecksa Deanyell Howell, of Celina, are being held in the Mercer County Jail on suspicion of felony drug possession.
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Grand Lake Drug Task Force agents tracked the suspects traveling from the city of Celina on Friday into the city of St. Mary’s before they were stopped heading into Coldwater for a minor traffic violation, according to a release from the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office.
A K-9 unit alerted the officers to the presence of drugs in the car, and the driver, Howell, was searched and found to be in possession of four capsules of heroin, according to the release.
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The passenger, Pruitt, was believed to be in possession of heroin as well and detectives received a tip that he used lubricant to conceal the drugs in his rectum, according to the release.
Officers observed a lubricant container in the vehicle and before he was booked into the jail, Pruitt was asked and denied that he was concealing any drugs in his body, according to the sheriff’s office.
Officers separated Pruitt from the other inmates and put him under observation while detectives obtained a body cavity search warrant. Once the warrant was approved, Pruitt was transported to Mercer Health in Coldwater and searched again; officers found three bags containing approximately 17.5 grams of heroin and meth hidden in his rectum, according to the sheriff’s office.
The drugs were estimated to have a street value of $1,750, according to the release.
In a prepared statement, Sheriff Grey said “this is why it is critical that the Sheriff’s Office puts a body scanner in the jail.”
“Had we not developed the information about the drugs in his rectum, 17.5 grams of drugs would have entered the jail and possibly been shared with other inmates. The only way to stop it is a body scanner., Grey’s statement reads.
Task force officers with the Auglaize County Sheriff’s Office, Celina, St. Mary’s and Coldwater police departments assisted in the investigation.
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