Largo woman chews, swallows crack pipe during arrest, police say

LARGO — Dariel Hutton took one "big swallow" and the pipe was gone, police said.

Hutton, 52, of Largo, was arrested Friday night after Largo police said she tried to destroy evidence by chewing and swallowing a glass crack pipe.

According to her arrest report, Hutton was looking through her purse for her boyfriend's truck keys when an officer saw a "small glass pipe with Brillo and burnt residue inside, which is consistent with a crack pipe."

As she rummaged through her bag, officer Robert Drumm said he saw her grab for the pipe and tried to place her under arrest.

"While I was doing this, she placed the pipe inside her mouth and refused to open it," Drumm said in the arrest report. "I made several attempts to have her open her mouth … I observed her chewing and attempting to swallow, refusing to open her mouth."

Once in custody, Drumm said Hutton "made a big swallow" and finally opened her mouth, revealing a cut on its roof, but no pipe in sight. Drumm said he looked in her purse again, but the pipe was gone.

Drumm did however, find a bag of small, white pills Hutton claimed were ibuprofen, according to the arrest report. A search of the numbers imprinted on the pills found them to be methadone, police said.

Drumm was arrested and faces charges with tampering with physical evidence, possession of a controlled substance and resisting an officer without violence. She is currently being held in Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $4,150 bail.

Hutton has a lengthy criminal history in Pinellas County, including multiple drug and prostitution charges. She's also served two stints in state prison related to theft and drug charges.

Contact Daniel Figueroa IV at dfigueroa@tampabay.com. Follow @danuscripts.