Crime & Safety

Phantom Finger Leads to Drug Arrest for Stillwater Couple

If convicted, Ashley Brooker, 22, and Nicholas Doyle, 25, face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

A Stillwater couple was arrested for possession of methamphetamine last week after a 22-year-old woman was seen frantically searching a vehicle for her boyfriend's "missing finger."

Ashley Marie Brooker and Nicholas Thomas Doyle, 25, both of Stillwater, were each arrested for felony fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance Nov. 20 after Stillwater Police found methamphetamine and syringes in their vehicle which was, at the time of arrest, parked outside the emergency room of . 

According to a criminal complaint filed Nov. 21 in : 

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Stillwater police responded to the hospital parking lot after an emergency medical technician (EMT) reported seeing an "extremely agitated" woman flailing her arms.

When approached by the EMT, Brooker said she was looking for a finger as she frantically searched the passenger's side of the vehicle.

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The EMT noticed what was described in the complaint as "severe pock marks, scarring and scabs on the woman's face" and believed her behavior to be consistent with methamphetamine use. The EMT then called police.

Responding officers questioned Brooker and were told that her boyfriend, Doyle, severed a finger and that she believed it to be somewhere inside the vehicle.

After asking Brooker to exit the vehicle, officers found her to be speaking very quickly unable to control her movements.

Officers also noticed the cap to a hypodermic syringe on the driver's seat when Brooker got out of the car. She then admitted to having a syringe full of what was later found to be methamphetamine in the driver's console. 

Meanwhile, a second responding officer located a man inside the hospital fitting the description of Doyle. When questioned by police, Doyle said he cut his finger but did not sever it.

Doyle also admitted Brooker drove him to the hospital.

Police searched Doyle and found a hypodermic syringe cap in his left front pocket. Doyle declined to be interviewed at the time of arrest.

A second empty syringe was found in a post-arrest investigation of the vehicle.

Brooker was transported to Washington County Jail after admitting to have used methamphetamine. She told police she hadn't slept in six days.

If convicted of the charges against them, Doyle and Brooker both face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.


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