Woman charged with drugs in jail

A Tennessee woman was charged with hiding illegal drugs, including a loaded syringe, on her person during a visit with an inmate at the Neshoba County Jail last week, the authorities said.

The woman, Elizabeth Pagen Stokes, 35, 20 Davidson Court, Crossville, Tenn., was arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Neshoba County Sheriff Eric Clark said Stokes was encountered in the hallway by a jail employee. Clark said the employee noticed that she was acting very nervous and was fidgeting. 

The employee soon found that she had a warrant issued through the Mississippi Department of Corrections and while making that arrest got a confession that she had illegal drugs on her, Clark said. Clark said she then gave deputies a loaded syringe and a substance believed to be crystal methamphetamine.

Clark said the incident is a “testament” to the proactive nature of everyone on his staff.

Clark said he was not sure what MDOC wanted Stokes for specifically but noted that she had been sentenced to serve a sentence for grand larceny as recently as 2018 and in February had been arrested for possession of a controlled substance. Clark said both charges stem from incidents in Neshoba County.