A trio of Floridians was arrested Monday night on U.S. Interstate 80 on drug and theft charges.
Bernice Turturo, 49, of 1922 S.W. 41st St., Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.
Brittany Jade Turturo, 23, of 2413 S.W. 42nd Way, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was charged with first-offense possession of a controlled substance-cocaine, first-offense possession of a controlled substance-methamphetamine, possession of contraband in a correctional institution and providing false identification information.
Dwuan Lashay Crooms IV, 27, of 2416 N.W. 22nd Road, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was charged with first-degree theft.
The incident began about 8:30 p.m. Monday near the 102 mile marker of eastbound U.S. Interstate 80, where an Iowa State Patrol Trooper stopped a 2023 Chevrolet Suburban for a “traffic violation,” according to court records.
The trooper made contact with Crooms, the driver, and perceived “the odor of burnt marijuana emanating from the vehicle’s passenger compartment,” according to court records. Brittany Turturo and Bernice Turturo were back-seat passengers.
The trooper conducted a probable-cause search of the vehicle, which disclosed “a cigar package” that “contained multiple stolen checks, credit cards and ID’s of people from multiple states,” according to court records.
Crooms “has numerous prior arrests for credit card theft and other theft,” according to court records.
The vehicle search also disclosed “a used methamphetamine pipe that contained burnt residue” in the purse of Bernice Turturo.
The trooper “attempted to identify” Brittany Turturo, who allegedly gave the trooper “a different last name and a different date of birth,” according to court records.
The vehicle search also disclosed “a white powdery substance” in Brittany Turturo’s purse that “field tested positive for cocaine,” according to court records.
Brittany Turturo was arrested and transported to the Dallas County Jail, where “the jail’s body scanner detected items concealed within” her “vaginal area,” according to court records. “The items were removed by” Turturo, who “continued to try to conceal them
from jail staff by trying to hide them in her hair.”
The items were eventually identified as methamphetamine and “an unknown brown powdery substance,” according to court records.
Bernice Turturo was held in the Dallas County Jail on a $300 cash or surety bond. She is scheduled for a pretrial conference March 28 in Dallas County District Court.
Brittany Turturo is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $5,000 cash or surety bond. She is scheduled for a preliminary hearing March 31 in Dallas County District Court.
Crooms is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $15,000 cash or surety bond. He iss scheduled for a preliminary hearing March 31 in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
