Photo: Erica Woolum
Santa Barbara County – Everyone likes a good bargain, and the local Goodwill Store is often the place where assorted treasures can be found.
That may well have been the motive of 37-year-old Santa Maria resident Erica Woolum late on the night of May 7th. According to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, it was well after 10:00 p.m. when a routine Santa Maria Station patrol unit deputy observed Woolum “going through the donated items” stacked at the rear of the Orcutt Road Goodwill Store.
Curious as to what she was doing and why, the deputy made contact with Woolum and discovered she was “in possession of more than five grams of packaged methamphetamine.” She was also in possession of numerous items of drug paraphernalia and—with clearly nefarious intent—more than a half-dozen license plates from California, Hawaii, and Texas.
With that totality of evidence on hand, the deputy took Woolum into custody. He then discovered her vehicle was unregistered (which may explain the need for all the stolen license plates). She was then transported to Santa Barbara County Jail, where she was booked on charges of transporting methamphetamine for sale, possession of drug paraphernalia, vehicle registration fraud, petty theft, misappropriation of lost property, and prowling. Her bail was set at $30,000.
Photos: Courtesy Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
