The contents of a FedEx package landed a Florida Keys code inspector in jail, cops say
Detectives in the Florida Keys say a senior Monroe County code compliance inspector tried to send a large shipment of marijuana to Georgia through FedEx.
But as soon as she dropped off the package in August, FedEx employees could smell a strong odor of weed coming through the box and called the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, according to an arrest report.
Detectives arrested Francie Lynn Boellard, 61, last week on a warrant for marijuana possession with intent to sell. She was released on a $5,000 bond on Wednesday. Boellard did not return a voicemail message left Monday seeking comment.
Boellard is senior code compliance inspector whose focus is on illegal vacation rentals. She was hired in March 2015, and her annual salary is $70.493.83, the county said Monday.
Kristen Livengood, spokeswoman for the county, said a yet-to-be-scheduled “predetermination hearing” will be held at which Boellard will have a chance to respond to the allegations.
“This hearing is done prior to the county imposing a disciplinary action,” Livengood said in a statement.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Boellard dropped off the box at the FedEx store in the Middle Keys city of Marathon on Aug. 20. After smelling the marijuana, FedEx workers called the sheriff’s office.
Detectives with the narcotics squad asked the workers to open the box in front of the store’s security camera. Inside the box were four bottles of gummy marijuana candies containing 500 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.
There were also 28.2 grams of regular marijuana for smoking, according to the report.
The package was heavily duct-taped with a black shirt wrapped around it.
In October, detectives received security camera footage from that day. It shows Boellard dropping off the package, paying for it to be shipped with a credit card and her driving away in a Monroe County vehicle, detectives say in their report.
Detectives interviewed Boellard earlier this month. According to the affidavit, when they asked her about the package, she replied, “Oh, the one from three months ago?”
At first, Boellard told detectives she did not know what was inside the box. She said her friend in Fayetteville, Georgia, told her a package for her would be dropped off at Boellard’s house. The package came, and Boellard said all she saw was the black shirt in which it was wrapped.
However, during the interview, Boellard eventually acknowledged knowing the package was marijuana. She said she has known the woman who was to have received the package for 30 years and that she has sent packages to her in the past, according to the affidavit.
That woman, who was not arrested, could not be reached for comment. The number for her provided in the arrest report has been disconnected.
Boellard told detectives she believes the woman wanted the marijuana for a friend who has cancer. Boellard also said she has a medical marijuana card, but she did not buy any of the drugs found in the package, according to the report.
