A 42-year-old Fort Myers woman is wanted after allegedly skipping out on her last known address while serving probation tied to a drug-possession case. Koren Burton, described as 5 feet 4 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds, was last known to be living in the Dunbar neighborhood, and Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers says she's now accused of violating the terms of her probation by leaving that address altogether.
According to Gulf Coast News and Weather, Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers says Burton's troubles trace back to a traffic stop where she was riding as a passenger when a police K-9 alerted on the vehicle for drugs. Officers then searched everyone inside the car, and that's when things got strange — quite literally. Per the outlet's report, officers noticed Burton making unusual movements during the search and soon discovered why: she was allegedly trying to hide crack rocks in her mouth while also concealing a glass pipe in her private parts. That pipe later tested positive for cocaine, the outlet reports.
From Arrest to Probation to Alleged No-Show
Burton was ultimately arrested and found guilty of drug possession stemming from that stop, and a judge sentenced her to 12 months of probation, the report states. Now, rather than completing that sentence quietly, she's accused of violating its terms by leaving her last known address in Dunbar without notice — the detail that has Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers asking the public for help locating her.
Florida law gives officers some leeway in these situations. Under Florida Statutes § 948.06, an officer who is aware that someone is on probation or community control may make a warrantless arrest when specific statutory conditions are met.
Not an Isolated Case in Lee County
Burton's case fits a pattern Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers has flagged repeatedly in recent months. In one earlier case, the same tip network said 45-year-old Stacia Joseph was accused of violating parole after being arrested for possession of a controlled substance; that report noted officers found a crack pipe, cocaine, and drug paraphernalia in her car after she was seen acting erratically at Edison Mall in Fort Myers, the outlet's report notes. In another, 45-year-old Vernon Brockway was pulled over in April and accused of violating probation after a drug-possession arrest, with officers locating crack cocaine in the vehicle's center console and marijuana tucked in the driver's-side door, according to the same news organization.
How to Submit a Tip
Anyone with information on Burton's whereabouts is asked to contact Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS (8477), through the P3 app, or via its website. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and those whose information leads to an arrest may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000.
