Inset: Amanda L. Burkes. Background: Burkes being arrested in Florida (Putnam County Sheriff’s Office).
Over the weekend, law enforcement officers in Florida apprehended a 33-year-old woman after she was found unconscious behind the wheel of her car, parked in front of a church. Inside the vehicle, three young children were discovered asleep in the backseat, while authorities reportedly uncovered substantial quantities of methamphetamine.
The woman, identified as Amanda Lynn Burkes, now faces an array of charges. These include three counts of child neglect, trafficking in amphetamines, drug possession near a place of worship, and multiple other drug-related offenses, as detailed in court documents.
According to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by Law&Crime, the incident unfolded late Sunday when a deputy from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office spotted Burkes’ black Chevrolet sedan stationed on Bardin Road in Palatka, Florida. The car was partially occupying the lot of Midway Baptist Church.
The deputy, initially attending to a different call, returned approximately 30 minutes later to find the sedan still in the same location.
Upon further inspection of the vehicle, the deputy reportedly discovered Burkes asleep in the driver’s seat, with drool evident on her face.
In the backseat, the officers found three children, aged between 7 months and 4 years, also asleep. Investigators observed that blankets were strategically hung to block the driver’s view of the children from the front seat.
After deputies woke Burkes and asked her to exit the vehicle, she reportedly admitted there was marijuana inside but denied the presence of other contraband. A subsequent search of the front passenger seat allegedly uncovered a black magnetic box containing a glass smoking pipe and baggies of a white crystal-like substance.
Body camera footage provided by the sheriff’s office showed deputies laying the alleged drugs out on the hood of Burkes’ car.
A field test of the substance “yielded a presumptive positive result for methamphetamine,” the affidavit states. The total weight of the drugs was approximately 28.2 grams.
During an interview with investigators, Burkes reportedly claimed she had stopped for food at McDonald’s and was driving to her brother’s house, though she “stated she did not know how long she and her children had been asleep on the roadside.” While she acknowledged the marijuana was hers, she allegedly claimed a neighbor known only as “Eddie” may have placed the black box of methamphetamine in her car without her knowledge earlier that day.
Authorities notified the Department of Children and Families, and the children were eventually released into the custody of their grandmother.
Burkes was transported to the Putnam County Jail for processing, where she was initially held without bond, the sheriff’s office said. Court records indicate she appeared before Putnam County Circuit Judge Alicia R. Washington on Tuesday, who ordered her bond set at $73,500. It was not immediately clear when Burkes was scheduled to return to court.
