Cocaine, pipe found in inmate's prosthetic leg after jailhouse overdose

AUGUSTA, Maine — A Maine woman in jail for a probation violation now faces a drug charge after she overdosed while in custody -- and medical workers found cocaine and a crack pipe stashed inside her prosthetic leg, police said.

Sonya Marie Engelhardt, 41, of Skowhegan, was booked into the Kennebec County Jail on a violation of her release on prior charges, according to the Kennebec Journal.

"Once inside the jail, Engelhardt overdosed and was transported to Maine General Medical Center," read an affidavit obtained by the Journal. "According to Deputy Savage, once at the hospital, the nursing staff took a crack pipe out of Engelhardt's prosthetic leg that had a little baggie in it with a usable amount of crack cocaine."

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Engelhardt, who recovered from the overdose, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to the bail violation charge, as well as a charge of unlawful possession of cocaine, the newspaper reported. Her attorney requested bail and a contract with Maine Pretrial Services, an alternative sentencing option to which defendants can be assigned.

He suggested the contract include a provision that her prosthetic leg can be searched at any time for drugs, the Journal reported.

Engelhardt was on deferred disposition in a previous case that involved burglary and theft charges from another county, the newspaper said. Prosecutors said they would move to terminate that deferral, meaning Engelhardt would face a sentencing hearing in that case.

The previous case, out of Somerset County, saw Engelhardt charged with burglary and theft in November, charges that stemmed from a July incident in Athens, Maine, in which a New York man was shot.

When police and emergency personnel responded to a call from a woman who claimed she picked up a man along the side of the road who had been shot in the buttocks, Engelhardt was driving the car, the Journal reported at the time.

Investigators eventually learned that the shooting had taken place at a camp located off a rural road in Athens.

Engelhardt and one other person were charged with theft of fuel to run the camp, the newspaper said. They were also charged with burglary because the owner of the camp, who was not involved in the shooting or other crimes, had not given anyone permission to stay there.

It was not immediately clear if anyone was ever charged with shooting the victim.

Cox Media Group