A Leesburg woman and her Ocala companion were arrested on drug charges after being discovered with narcotics in their backpacks.
Deputies on patrol stopped a tan 2002 Chevy pickup truck with a dimly lighted license plate near Morningside Drive and Radio Road in Leesburg at 12:45 a.m. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest report on Tuesday, May 26. All three people, including the male driver, 36-year-old Katie Rene Oakley, and 29-year-old Kari Nicole Schuer, sat in the front cab due to a massive speaker box taking up all of the space in the rear.
The driver said he was on his way to drop off his friends at their homes. He refused to consent to a search, but when a law enforcement K-9 detected the stench of narcotics, the deputies no longer needed his permission. The occupants were then removed from the vehicle so that the deputies could inspect the interior, according to the report.
Despite finding nothing in the cab, they discovered several backpacks and carry bags in the truck’s bed. Oakley apologized for the filth inside one of the backpacks, which was filled with feminine clothing from doing laundry at the driver’s home. On the right side of the bag, a clip opened to reveal a pouch containing a blue straw and white residue. A search of her person turned up a bag of cocaine in her trousers’ pocket, according to the report.
The backpack also had mail addressed to Oakley, confirming that it belonged to her. In the main pouch was a .22 LR Taurus pistol loaded with four. 22 caliber rounds. The handgun had a “breakaway” barrel, which indicated that there were no bullets in the chamber. A check with dispatch revealed she had many criminal records, indicating she should not have been carrying a pistol, according to the report.
When asked about this, she replied that she had the pistol because a man was attempting to kill her. According to the investigation, she believed she had the constitutional right to possess arms, despite being a convicted felon.
Another backpack in the truck bed included individually wrapped tinfoil with charred residue, two little yellow tablets, and methamphetamine. There was also a Chime debit card with Schuer’s name written on the back. She eventually admitted to having a clear packet of fentanyl in her shorts, according to the report.
The deputies then asked Schuer for her name and date of birth, which she lied about. They then requested her Social Security number, as they had no record of her identity. She said she couldn’t recall it, and she was born in Minnesota but never received an ID card, according to the report.
At this point, law enforcement reviewed the name on the back of the Chime card. A local hit led them to a driver’s license number, which revealed a photo of Schuer that was used to correctly identify her. The report also stated that she had an active Marion County warrant.
Oakley was arrested on allegations of felony handgun possession, drug paraphernalia, and cocaine. The Michigan native was taken to the Lake County Jail without bond. She was also detained in a U-Haul with drugs in April of this year, as well as with fentanyl, after leaving a drug house in April of 2022.
Schuer was detained on allegations of possessing methamphetamine, fentanyl, and drug paraphernalia, as well as providing false identification to a law enforcement officer. She was arrested on a $7,000 bond and a Marion County hold.
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