Lely Resort woman arrested after curfew, faces drug charges

A woman from Lely Resort was arrested early Friday morning after deputies say she broke curfew while in possession of enough fentanyl to potentially kill nearly 3,000 people.

According to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, 33-year-old convicted felon Stephanie Tompkins was out on bond for separate narcotics trafficking cases in the county when deputies arrested her after midnight in an area under the curfew imposed after Hurricane Ian. While patrolling an area south of US-41, they pulled Tompkins over in a white Lincoln sedan driven for a traffic offense.

When deputies asked Tompkins if she was aware of the active curfew, she said yes but didn’t think the area she was in was covered by it. They took her into custody on the curfew violation. Since Tompkins parked in a driving path, deputies checked the contents of her vehicle before having it towed.

They found 5.6 grams of fentanyl, which is enough to kill 2,800 people. Deputies also found other illegal narcotics including methamphetamine, alprazolam and synthetic cannabinoids, as well as narcotic paraphernalia.

Tompkins faces charges of trafficking in fentanyl (four grams or more), possession of meth with the intent to sell/traffick/deliver, possession of a controlled substance, possession of synthetic cannabinoids and possession or use of narcotics equipment/paraphernalia. This is her second arrest for fentanyl trafficking this year.