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Drug and theft charges have one woman in county jail awaiting a preliminary hearing, reports said.
In the span of just a few days, one Norristown woman was picked up by Whitpain Township police for both drug possession and theft at the same grocery store, according to reports.
The Whitpain Township Police Department responded to the Giant Food Store, located at 1760 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell on Thursday, Sept. 12 around 6:07 p.m. after reports of an unconscious woman were made to Montgomery County Emergency Dispatch. Once at the scene, police said that they were greeted by the store’s manager who had witnessed a female sitting on a toilet, slumped over unconscious in the store’s women’s restroom.
Later identified as Kara Foraker, 40, of the 1200 block of West Marshall Street, in Norristown, was discovered by police in the same position, said reports. Near Foraker’s feet, police said, was a lighter, a piece of tin foil with burn marks on it, and a black backpack. Based on training and experience with the force, police said they recognized the tin foil with burn marks to be consistent with drug usage.
According to reports, police sat Foraker up into a seated position, and she began to mumble and moan, soon after coming to, appearing “disoriented and confused.” Police said they asked her if she’d used any drugs, and she stated “I didn’t use any. I took a gram of dope.”
Foraker then told emergency medical services (EMS) she had used fentanyl the same day, as they asked, said reports. Police said that her speech was slurred throughout the interaction. When asked if she had any drugs on her person or in her back, she “indicated with her hand” that the remainder of the “bag” containing drugs was in her right pant pocket, police said.
In her pocket, police reported finding a small, blue wax paper baggie that contained a white, powdery substance consistent with narcotics. Additional searching of the backpack revealed five pieces of tin foil all approximately two- by three-inches in size (one with burn marks), as well as three small, clear baggies consistent with drug packaging, said reports.
Police also found a grey, medium-size cylinder-shaped container with a screw-top lid, marked with a scorpion, containing a brown, granular substance and larger pieces of brown material, later identified as methamphetamines, said reports.
Foraker was charged with intentional possession of a controlled substance by a person not registered to be permitted and two counts of use and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Just five days later, Whitpain Police were once again called to the DeKalb Pike Giant location, according to reports. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, around 11:41 a.m., police arrived on scene for reports of a retail theft, said reports.
A manager of the store had witnessed a female, later identified as Foraker, placing various items offered for retail sale into her personally owned cart, police reported. Foraker then left the store without paying for the merchandise, said reports.
Police observed, via surveillance footage, Foraker exiting the store with multiple items in her possession, passing all points of sale, and making no attempts to pay for the items, they said. She was later located by East Norriton Township Police in the area of DeKalb and Germantown pikes and positively identified by the store manager as the female from the store, said reports.
Giant employees created an itemized receipt of the stolen goods, totaling $230.01, said reports. Due to the value of the items stolen, and the theft being the third of its kind by Foraker, the charges were graded as felony of the third degree, police said. For the Sept. 17 incident, Foraker was charged with retail theft and receiving stolen property.
At this time, according to court documents, Foraker is being held in County Jail, unable to post a $77 bail. She is to appear for a preliminary hearing on Oct. 3 before Magisterial District Judge Suzan Leonard.
