Woman tells Whitemarsh Police purse containing meth, heroin was her mother's

A Philadelphia woman was found to have large quantities of various illegal drugs in her purse during a traffic stop in Whitemarsh Township, police said.

According to the police criminal complaint, Whitemarsh Police were on patrol in the area of Ridge Pike and Chestnut Street when a silver Ford Focus proceeded through a steady red light, continuing eastbound on Ridge Pike on Jan. 13. Police said that a traffic stop was initiated in the 700 block of Ridge Pike.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as having a “limited driver’s license” and that the vehicle he was operating was not his, said the complaint. His passenger said that she’d borrowed the vehicle from a friend, and that she’d been borrowing the car since October of 2024, police said.

The car’s passenger was identified as Dana Marie Esbensen, 49, of Philadelphia, and she said she did not know where the vehicle’s owner lived, but “could call” the owner, though she never did during the stop, according to police.

The driver was “taking short, quick shallow breaths, and his hands were trembling while holding his phone, both signs of extreme nervousness,” said the police criminal complaint. Upon running Esbensen’s name through the county’s dispatch, police said that she had previously required medical attention in November 2024 when she was “found unconscious in her vehicle.” Because of nervous behaviors and the previous incident, police asked for consent to search the vehicle, which Esbensen allowed.

Police said that on the floorboard of the passenger’s side was a purse “directly touching Esbensen’s leg,” which she said belonged to her mother. Upon searching the purse, police said they found:

• Esbensen’s PA identification card in a small wallet
• Two baggies of white crystal substance suspected to be crystal meth
• A small jar containing a dark tan and black substance suspected heroin
• One glass pipe used for smoking meth

Police said that the amounts in the purse were “not consistent with personal use.”

Esbensen was taken into custody, police said. During inventory of her property, police reported that Esbensen was found to be carrying $628 in cash in her wallet, despite telling police she was unemployed.

Esbensen is charged with a felony count of manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to deliver, as well as two misdemeanor counts of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Esbensen was released on a bond signature. She has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Dara Nasatir.