Crime & Safety

Iowa City Police: Woman Arrested for Drug Possession Claimed Cocaine was Baking Soda for Brushing Teeth

In 2011, Iowa City Police responded to the residence for the smell of marijuana and allegedly discovered more drugs than marijuana at the residence.


In 2011, an Iowa City woman was allegedly unable to convince police that her cocaine was a more benign substance. She was arrested again Sunday evening with cocaine in her possession and faces serious felony charges.

According to Iowa City Police criminal complaints, on Sept. 6, 2011, officers were called to an apartment at 2159 Kountry Lane for the reports of burning marijuana smell. When they spoke with the sole resident of the apartment, Charnise Lashon McCambry, 41, she gave them permission to search the apartment for contraband.

According to the complaint, officers found three baggies of cocaine, a small amount of marijuana, over 700 prescription pills belonging to other people, packaging materials, digital scales, and $885 in small bills. McCambry allegedly told officers that the cocaine was actually baking soda that she used to brush her teeth when she went to Chicago. Officers later field-tested the substance which returned a positive for cocaine.

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Last night at 8:48 p.m., McCambry was stopped during a "routine" police stop for traffic violations near the intersection of Highway 1 and Mormon Trek Boulevard. A K-9 unit was brought to the scene and reported a positive for a drug present in the vehicle, according the police report. A brown clutch was found inside the vehicle with a baggy that had 63 grams of crack cocaine in it, according to the complaint.

McCambry was booked into the Johnson County Jail last night and brought up on multiple charges, including cocaine possession with intent to distribute, a serious Class B Felony; possession of drugs without a tax-stamp, a Class D Felony; and two misdemeanor marijuana possession charges.

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