Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Crystal Fay Cascaddan, 39, of Alachua, was arrested Sunday morning and charged with grand theft of a vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia.

At about 9 a.m. on Sunday, a Gainesville Police Department officer responded to the intersection of NE 35th Avenue and NE 11th Terrace after a concerned citizen reported a suspicious vehicle. The officer reported that he found Cascaddan sleeping in the driver’s seat of a 2004 Saturn SUV with no tag. The officer learned that the SUV had been reported stolen from Tomlinson Motor Company on April 3.

Cascaddan reportedly told the officer that she had the keys to the SUV and that she got the vehicle from a friend.

When the officer asked her to get out of the vehicle, she allegedly threw a piece of tin foil into nearby bushes and tried to bury a glass pipe in leaves at her feet. The officer reported that he didn’t find any contraband in the foil.

A search incident to arrest reportedly produced a long copper pipe that appeared to be modified for the consumption of narcotics.

Post Miranda, Cascaddan reportedly said she got the SUV from a friend and threw the foil into the bushes because she thought it contained “meth.” She reportedly admitted having a small amount of fentanyl in a bag in the car; for officer safety, the substance was not field-tested and was sent to FDLE for testing. She reportedly said the copper pipe was her “straw” that she uses to smoke fentanyl. The officer reported that Cascaddan eventually admitted finding the keys to the SUV on top of one of its tires a few nights ago; she said she immediately took the vehicle and didn’t know who owned it.

Less than two weeks ago, Cascaddan entered a plea in two cases of retail theft and was sentenced to two years of probation, with a condition that she live without breaking the law. She has five felony convictions (none violent) and five misdemeanor convictions (none violent). She has served one state prison sentence and was released in 2019. Judge Susan Miller-Jones ordered her held without bond for violating probation and set bail at $11,000 on the new charges.

Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.