A Carter County woman pled guilty to driving and drug charges after police say she dropped her child off at school while under the influence of an intoxicating substance.
Deputy Sal Caccamo of the Carter County Sheriff’s Office arrested Netta Michelle Stanberry, 40, of 400 Sugar Hollow Road, Butler, on Monday and charged her with driving under the influence and possession of Schedule II drugs.
On Tuesday, Stanberry appeared in Carter County General Sessions Court and entered a guilty plea to both charges against her. Judge Keith Bowers Jr. sentenced Stanberry to serve two days in jail on the DUI charge as well as 11 months and 29 days on probation, and he suspended her driving privileges for one year. Bowers ordered the woman to pay a $350 fine on the DUI conviction and an $850 fine for the drug possession charge.
The charges against Stanberry stem from an incident that began on Monday morning at Little Milligan Elementary School after a school employee reported a suspicious car parked beside the school to Caccamo, a school resource officer. Caccamo noted he saw a red Nissan Xterra parked at the right side of the school next to the exit door and the driver, later identified as Stanberry, was unconscious and sitting in the driver’s seat.
“(I) tried to wake up Netta Stanberry multiple times by yelling and banging on the window,” Caccamo said, adding he was finally able to awaken the woman and asked her step out of the SUV.
“Mrs. Stanberry appeared to be intoxicated or on some type of drug due to her movement and the way she was walking and speaking.”
The officer administered a series of field sobriety tests to Stanberry, which Caccamo said she failed to perform correctly.
Caccamo arrested Stanberry and transported her to the Carter County Detention Center. Once arriving at the jail, officers searched Stanberry and found her to be in possession of two Lortab pills, which were located inside a pill bottle for a different prescription medication.
“Mrs. Stanberry also had three bottles of liquid methadone,” Caccamo said. “One bottle was dated Feb. 9, 2017, and was empty, one bottle was dated Feb. 13, 2017, and was empty, one bottle was dated Feb. 13, 2017, and was three-quarters empty.”
Caccamo said school staff reported Stanberry had dropped her 6-year-old daughter off at the school around 9 a.m. on Monday. “Staff reported that her daughter was noticed walking around the school and was let in by the front door after touching the front door alarm,” Caccamo said. “Mrs. Stanberry was not with her daughter and was sitting in her vehicle.”