Florida 4th-Grade Teacher Pinched for Drugs

(Ocala, Florida) A 53-year-old fourth-grade teacher at Fessenden Elementary School, Cynthia Thomas McWilliams, was arrested Friday during a traffic stop for alleged possession of drugs. McWilliams was charged with possession of crack cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia and tampering with evidence.

At approximately 7:15 p.m. Friday, Deputy Damon Baxley stopped a gray Buick Lesabre on West Anthony Road, just north of State Road 326, because the car did not have its lights on in the rain, the deputy said.

Thinking she may have shoved something under the seat, Baxley said he called for a K-9 handler to assist with the stop.

K-9 deputy Jared Shealy arrived on scene and while walking around the vehicle, the dog detected the presence of drugs at or near the driver's side door, deputies said.

McWilliams was asked to exit the car, and the K-9 deputy asked if she had anything illegal on her, deputies said. While turning her pockets inside out, deputies say a metal crack pipe fell from her right front pocket.

Authorities say McWilliams changed her standing position so she could stand over the crack pipe in an effort to conceal it. Inside the crack pipe was a burnt steel-wool pad, deputies said.

Also found in her right front pants pocket was a clear plastic sandwich bag that contained nine grams of marijuana, deputies said.

Searching the car, officers say they found two pieces of crack cocaine - weighing less than a gram - between the driver's door and the seat.

McWilliams was booked into custody at the Marion County Jail with bond set at $5,000.