Woman to sentenced to prison after police find drugs hidden inside a WD-40 can with a false bottom

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. — A judge sentenced a woman to 30 years in prison after police found a myriad of drugs stashed in her car, home and storage unit in Fredericksburg.

According to the Fredericksburg Police Department, 33-year-old Jennifer St John was arrested after an investigation unfolded between March 2021 and October 2022.

On March 21, 2021, detectives searched St John's home in the 2600 block of Princess Anne Street and found around 40 tablets of a drug that later tested to contain Etizolam, a Schedule I controlled substance ten times stronger than Xanax. The tablets were found inside the false bottom of a WD-40 can. Detectives also found several grams of a synthetic cathinone commonly referred to as “molly” or “boot," as well as around 10 grams of methamphetamine and approximately $6,000 in cash. 

Nearly a year later, detectives served another search warrant at St John's home and found around 500 grams (½ kilogram) of methamphetamine, several grams of cocaine, synthetic cathinone and roughly $8,000 in cash. 

It would take another seven months before St John's was arrested during a coordinated traffic stop by Fredericksburg Police detectives. 

When detectives searched St John's car on October 6 during her arrest, they reportedly found 40 grams of methamphetamine and several grams of cocaine. Investigators later searched her storage unit in Spotsylvania County and discovered several more grams of cocaine, methamphetamine, Psilocybin (mushrooms) and $4,000 inside a coffee maker. 

St John was found guilty of three counts of Possession with the Intent to Distribute a Schedule I/II controlled substance on Tuesday. A judge sentenced her to 30 years imprisonment with 27 years suspended. Additionally, St. Johns forfeited $17,535 in drug proceeds. 

St Johns also faces prosecution in other jurisdictions for the distribution of fentanyl, according to the Fredericksburg Police Department. 

The lab tests assorted drugs to see if they contain fentanyl, which can be deadly in small amounts.