Woman jailed for 50 days for possessing cat urine

38-year-old Cynthia Hunter of Florida was jailed for 50 days when police found a vial containing a yellow substance in her purse. She said it was cat urine for her son's science experiment, but she was locked up for 50 days until the lab results confirmed that the substance was indeed cat urine.

Cynthia Hunter was arrested in August accused of stealing at a Brandon Wal-Mart.

The 38-year-old mother was charged with possession of a controlled substance after deputies found a vial in her purse that a field test suggested was meth.

Link

[#1 posted by dogu4 , October 17, 2007 7:54 AM]

Another example of imprisonment being used against the presumed innocent. I hope she can sue the pants off of the authorities who did this and that they are held personally and publicly responsible.

[#2 posted by mdhatter , October 17, 2007 8:51 AM]

good thing those field kits never give false positives.

I wonder if the sheriff already seized her home, car, and financial assets? Chances are....

[#3 posted by Simon Greenwood , October 17, 2007 8:56 AM]

Hmm, I wondered where the Discuss button had gone. She *had* been arrested and subsequently convicted for shoplifting. And dried cat pee isn't a common handbag accoutrement as far as I know. YMM, naturally, V.

[#4 posted by The Unusual Suspect , October 17, 2007 9:04 AM]

Let's hope the crooked pigs involved in this tried snorting what they thought was crack.

[#5 posted by bobolikebeer , October 17, 2007 9:36 AM]

I can see it now...

--"Cat Urine? That's some new street slang huh? So who are you getting your 'cat urine' from?"

--"Fluffy mostly, a little from Mr. Paws"

--"Johnson, write that down, it looks like we have some new playas on the scene, and I don't like the sound of em."

[#6 posted by Eric , October 17, 2007 9:59 AM]

Here's a link to a St. Petersburg Times story that includes more details. Points from the article:

1. Deputies found the vial of yellow, chalky substance while searching Hunter's purse during a pat-down. A security guard had seen her place beer, undergarments and a mixer into a shopping cart, then walk out of the Wal-Mart without paying, according to an arrest report.

When Hunter was booked into jail Aug. 15, authorities found that besides the petty theft, she was also wanted by Plant City police on an outstanding warrant for violation of probation for reckless driving.

Prosecutors and deputies said Hunter told them during questioning that she wanted to use the cat urine to help her son pass a drug screening. Hunter denies this.

Only Hunter has said that it was cat urine. Dehydrated human urine - packaged in small vials - is used in products designed to help people pass drug tests using someone else's urine.

The State Attorney spokesman said a judge might have held Hunter in jail after the petty theft arrest simply because of the warrant for violating probation. Her other past arrests have included failure to appear in court and driving under the influence.

What I think is the big problem here is the timeline of events:

"Records show the FDLE processed the sample and had results showing the substance was negative for drugs Sept. 6 - a full month before Hunter was released from jail. The Sheriff's Office picked up those results Sept. 14, an FDLE spokeswoman said. Prosecutors got the paperwork Sept. 19, but it didn't come to the attention of Anderson at the Prosecutor's Office until Sept. 25."

[#7 posted by El Guapo , October 17, 2007 10:13 AM]

"Another example of imprisonment being used against the presumed innocent."

You're joking, right? She had an outstanding warrant, plus she stole multiple items from the store. I think she should have been locked up longer than fifty days. Kudos to the police for keeping her off the streets as long as they did.

[#8 posted by Mark Frauenfelder , October 17, 2007 10:14 AM]

Thanks for posting this addition info, Eric!

[#9 posted by The Unusual Suspect , October 17, 2007 11:35 AM]

"Only Hunter has said that it was cat urine."

Eric, both AP and UPI are reporting that the police's own lab found that it was, in fact, cat urine.

[#10 posted by JY Yang , October 17, 2007 6:32 PM]

The 38-year-old mother was charged with possession of a controlled substance after deputies found a vial in her purse that a field test suggested was meth.

Anybody else read this and thought, "Wow, what have they been feeding their cat?"

[#11 posted by megs , October 18, 2007 9:11 AM]

ahhh the beauty of the american justice system!!!