Bungling cops give ‘Crooked Jess’ £50 to purchase medication in sting – just for her to not return
Jessica Straubel, 41, was trusted to buy drugs for an undercover sting operation despite being known as ‘Crooked Jess’ in the criminal underworld
‘Crooked Jess’ was entrusted to take part in a sting(Image: Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)
A criminal named “crooked Jess” lived up to her reputation when she made off with police money handed to her to buy drugs as part of a sting operation.
An undercover officer watched Jessica Straubel, 41, walk into a property believed to “facilitate the sale of narcotics”. But instead of returning with the crack cocaine, Straubel disappeared into the back yard.
The cop waited out front for an hour – “more than a reasonable amount of time for a narcotics transaction” – before it was decided Straubel “had no intentions of coming back”. The deputy concluded she “had deprived them of their money for her own use”.
She was trusted despite her alias(Image: Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office)
A search of the area found no trace of “Crooked Jess”. And since she did not own a phone, Deputy William Mauro said: “I had no way to get in contact with her to inquire to her whereabouts”.
Several months passed before police eventually caught up with Straubel and arrested her on Saturday for ripping off their undercover officer.
She was charged with theft and possession of drug paraphernalia after fentanyl residue was found on a piece of foil located in her “undergarments”. Straubel is currently locked up as her rap sheet of previous convictions include prostitution, drug possession and narcotic sales.
Elsewhere in the US, a serial bum sniffer was arrested after he tried to sniff women’s behinds again, police said. Registered sex offender Calese Crowder, 39, was arrested twice in the space of a month last year for harassing women in California, USA.
The police officer eventually gave up on Straubel returning (stock)(Image: Getty Images)
And back in 2021, the perv was filmed crouching down behind a woman and apparently sniffing her rear in a disturbing clip which went viral. He claimed he was “tying his shoe” before he was seen carrying out a similar act on another woman in the book shop.
On Friday afternoon, Glendale police were called to an incident involving a suspicious man allegedly trying to sniff customers in a grocery store on Glenoaks Boulevard. There were also calls from a nearby clothing shop following similar reports.
Following a review of surveillance footage, police identified Crowder as a suspect and he was subsequently arrested for allegedly breaching his parole conditions. He will remain in custody until his hearing.
