A Bainbridge Island woman has been charged with possession of Oxycodone after she was caught selling services as a prostitute.
Johanna Catherine Holliday, 23, of Bainbridge Island was arrested on Friday, April 12 when detectives with the Bremerton Police Department responded to Holliday’s advertisement for prostitution services on backpage.com. The website offers a variety of classified ads, including adult services.
Detectives arranged for a date with Holliday, posing as a potential customer, and she was later arrested at the Oyster Bay Inn on Kitsap Way.
The arrest was the conclusion to an incident on Thursday, April 4 when Holliday was pulled over immediately following the purchase of Oxycodone from a known, local gang member.
A Bremerton police officer observed Holliday get into the car of the gang member, take a short ride, and soon return to a fellow prostitute’s car. Officers then pulled over the car with the two women inside and found a pill of Oxycodone that Holliday admitted to purchasing. She said that she intended to smoke the pill.
Oxycodone is a prescription pain medication that opiate addicts will often crush and smoke, though recently many manufacturers have altered the pills making them difficult to smoke.
Officers released Holliday at the scene because she agreed to meet with detectives the following day to make a statement about her criminal activities. Holliday, however, failed to meet with officers the next day, leading detectives to apprehend her by responding to her backpage.com ad.
Bremerton Police’s Special Operations Group was already investigating Holliday at the time she was stopped after the drug deal. Detectives were investigating her for prostitution and involvement with drugs.
The charging document for Holliday states that the investigation has revealed that Holliday is a prostitute and is addicted to heroin and prescription pills.
Holliday was booked into the Kitsap County Jail on April 13 for possession of narcotics and an outstanding DUI warrant. Bail was set at $25,000.
Possession of oxycodone, a controlled substance, is a felony. If convicted, Holliday could face a maximum five-year prison term and $10,000 fine.
