New Jail Scanner Reveals Smuggled Drugs, Misc. Items

Press release submitted by Kevin Doll, of the Pasco County Sheriff's Office

The Pasco Sheriff's Office Detention Center Booking Section has released the results of the first five months of using the new inmate scanner machine, which has proven to be an effective tool at reducing the introduction of illegal contraband into the jail.

The was the first such scanner to be utilized in the Tampa Bay area and was implemented into the agency's booking process last October. The scanner has resulted in the capture of the following 19 items concealed in footwear, clothing and body cavities:

15 drug/paraphernalia items
1 tongue piercing
1 knife/set of keys
1 shotgun shell
1 window punch

Included in the contraband listed above were the following items recovered
just this past week:

* On March 10, Peter Waechter was being booked in for auto burglary.  The
inmate was run through SecurPass and a large metal object was detected in his
shoe.  Inside the inmate's shoe, hidden under the in-sole was a sharp metal
window punch. The inmate was then charged with possession of burglary tools.

* On March 11, Tiffany Harbison was brought in for a DUI arrest. During a
SecurPass scan, an unknown object was identified in her lower abdomen. The
strip search yielded a metal pill bottle that was inside her genitals containing
2.5 Xanax bars. She was charged with possession of a controlled substance.