Brown indicted for trying to hide stolen credit card

Trying to conceal evidence is the same thing as actually destroying evidence, according to grand jurors who, this past week, indicted a woman who tried to hide a stolen credit card in the back seat of a police cruiser.

The defendant Carmella Andrea-Nicole Brown, 27, was indicted on charges of tampering with evidence, forgery, theft and illegal possession of credit cards. She will appear for arraignment before Circuit Court Judge Bart Stanley later this month.

Police say Brown tried to cash a government check belonging to her grandparents at Stewart Pharmacy but was foiled when an employee felt something was not right and contacted police.

According to McMinnville patrolman Brian Emery, Brown had a government check belonging to her grandparents and a credit card belonging to her grandfather and had signed the back of the check, constituting the crime of forgery. When asked, Brown reportedly told police she was trying to help out her grandparents who were sick. However, police were later told by the grandfather that Brown had stolen the items.

While prosecutors maintained they had a solid case on most of the counts, the defense questioned the strength of their felony tampering with evidence charge.

According to Emery, Brown was seen moving around in the back of his patrol car after she was cuffed from behind and placed inside. Upon checking on her, Emery said he found a cigarette coupon stuck under the seat and saw a credit card (separate from the one police had already confiscated from her) fall out of her pocket. Brown maintained she was trying to get the cigarette coupon out of her pocket because it was rubbing her through her pants. However, Emery said concealment of evidence was more likely the reason for her digging.

‘I believe she was in the process of trying to conceal the credit card,’ Emery said.

The defense maintained Brown should not be bound to the grand jury on the felony count because she did not succeed in hiding the credit card and was, in her words, trying to simply get the cigarette coupon out of her pocket.

Prosecutor Josh Crain, referring to the defense version as ‘linguistic gymnastics’ said the woman was obviously trying to hide the card and that not holding her responsible for that crime would simply be rewarding her for not pulling it off.

General Sessions Judge Larry Ross agreed with prosecutors as did grand jurors in issuing their indictments.