Gainesville Police arrested a woman Tuesday morning after she reportedly smashed two crack pipes during a traffic stop.
Just after midnight, Cheryl Denise Stephens, 48, of 500 SE 18th St., was the passenger in a car that was stopped for an improper right turn on East University Avenue, according to a police report.
Although Stephens agreed to be searched by police, she walked away from the car as soon as officers arrived at the scene. Stephens removed two crack pipes from her jacket pocket and threw them away from the car. She then began to stomp on the pipes in an attempt to destroy them, according to the report.
Stephens continued to step on them despite being told to stop by the officers.
When police tried to arrest her, she refused to put her hands behind her back then tensed up her arms while being handcuffed.
Since 2009, Stephens has been arrested three times for resisting arrest and nine times for drug possession, according to county records. She was most recently arrested on prostitution charges on Dec. 4, 2013.
Stephens was taken to Alachua County Jail where she is being held on charges of drug equipment possession, destroying evidence and resisting an officer without violence. As of press time, she remained in jail in lieu of a $5,000 bond.
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 1/21/2015 under the headline “Police: Woman smashes crack pipes during traffic stop, resists arrest"]
