Out of state women charged with drug possession

Two women traveling through Phillips County in mid-December of last year got more than they had bargained for when the car they were traveling in broke down and left them stranded near the Sleeping Buffalo turnout near Saco.

Erica Sherman and Jennifer Castronuovo were noticed walking down Highway 2 at about 1 p.m. on December 19. The Phillips County dispatcher informed a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper that two females were walking down the highway, according to court records. The MHP Trooper drove toward mile marker 489 on Highway 2 where he found the two women who were identified as Sherman and Castronuovo. The women told the trooper that their vehicle had broken down.

Castronuovo told the trooper that the duo was traveling from Florida to Oregon. Sherman told the trooper that the two were traveling from Florida to Fargo, North Dakota. The trooper saw that when Sherman made the comment on their travel plans that she also gave a “look” to Castronuovo as if to tell her friend to “let her do the talking.” The trooper found the conflicting traveling stories suspect and figured the two were trying to conceal illegal activities.

Sherman continued to tell the trooper that the pair had traveled from Florida to Williston, North Dakota, to visit Castronuovo’s family. Sherman told the trooper that after visiting Williston, the two would then travel on to Fargo. The trooper, knowing his geography, knew that there was no logical reason to travel to Phillips County on a trip from Williston to Fargo. Besides the story not making sense, the trooper noticed that the two women were nervous and visibly shaking.

The trooper asked the two if there was any marijuana in the vehicle and Sherman answered that “there shouldn’t be” and “I don’t think so,” but added that sometimes her boyfriend was known to smoke the illicit drug inside of the vehicle. The trooper went on to ask the two if there was any methamphetamine, cocaine or heroin in the car and was told there was not.

Based on his training and experience, and their conflicting answers to many questions, the trooper had reason to believe that two women were lying and that there were possibly illegal drugs in the car.

The trooper then had his dispatcher run a search on the two women to see if either had a drug arrest record. The trooper was told that Castronuovo had a history of drug arrests. The trooper told the two that they were free to go, but the he was going to go back to their car to see if it was a hazard to other traffic. He told the two that once he checked the vehicle, he would come back and give them a ride to town.

The vehicle, a 2012 Nissan Versa with Maryland plates, was parked near the Sleeping Buffalo turnout. The trooper requested a K-9 unit for assistance. Sammy, the K-9, alerted troopers to the odor of illegal drugs in three areas of the car, including the trunk. The car was then seized pending an application for a search warrant.

After a search warrant was issued, a Tri-Agency Task Force agent and other assisting agents searched the car and found 2.3 grams of cocaine, .3 grams of marijuana, a glass pipe with white residue inside it – which tested positive for methamphetamines – snubbed-out marijuana “roaches” and a homemade metal pipe with marijuana residue inside the pipe’s bowl.

The two women where then picked up at a Malta motel and arrested. The two were both charged with criminal possession of dangerous drugs, a felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. The two women made their initial appearances in court on Monday afternoon and both pleaded not guilty to the charges. They are both scheduled to make their next court appearances on February 24 at 10 a.m.