Inset: Amanda L. Burkes. Background: Burkes being arrested in Florida (Putnam County Sheriff's Office).
A 33-year-old woman in Florida was arrested over the weekend after authorities allegedly found her slumped over the wheel of her car with three young children asleep in the back while parked in front of a church with "trafficking amounts" of methamphetamine.
Amanda Lynn Burkes was taken into custody over the weekend and charged with multiple crimes, including three counts of child neglect, trafficking in amphetamines, possession of a vehicle for drug activity, possession of methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a place of worship, marijuana possession, and possession of drug equipment, court records show.
According to a probable cause affidavit obtained by Law&Crime, the incident occurred late Sunday evening when a deputy with the Putnam County Sheriff's Office noticed Burkes' black Chevrolet sedan parked alongside Bardin Road in Palatka, Florida. The vehicle was partially occupying the parking lot of Midway Baptist Church.
The deputy had been responding to a separate call at the time and returned to the church about 30 minutes later, finding the vehicle in the same position.
Upon approaching the sedan, the deputy allegedly found Burkes "slumped over and asleep in the driver's seat, with drool running down the side of her mouth."
In the backseat, three children — ranging in age from 7 months to 4 years old—were also asleep. Investigators noted that blankets had been hung between the front and rear seats, "obstructing the driver's view of the children seated in the rear."
After deputies woke Burkes and asked her to exit the vehicle, she reportedly admitted there was marijuana inside but denied the presence of other contraband. A subsequent search of the front passenger seat allegedly uncovered a black magnetic box containing a glass smoking pipe and baggies of a white crystal-like substance.
Body camera footage provided by the sheriff's office showed deputies laying the alleged drugs out on the hood of Burkes' car.
A field test of the substance "yielded a presumptive positive result for methamphetamine," the affidavit states. The total weight of the drugs was approximately 28.2 grams.
During an interview with investigators, Burkes reportedly claimed she had stopped for food at McDonald's and was driving to her brother's house, though she "stated she did not know how long she and her children had been asleep on the roadside." While she acknowledged the marijuana was hers, she allegedly claimed a neighbor known only as "Eddie" may have placed the black box of methamphetamine in her car without her knowledge earlier that day.
Authorities notified the Department of Children and Families, and the children were eventually released into the custody of their grandmother.
Burkes was transported to the Putnam County Jail for processing, where she was initially held without bond, the sheriff's office said. Court records indicate she appeared before Putnam County Circuit Judge Alicia R. Washington on Tuesday, who ordered her bond set at $73,500. It was not immediately clear when Burkes was scheduled to return to court.
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