Karlee Harbst of Port Orange woman who won $1M with a Florida lottery is arrested a year later in a major drugs bust. Appeared in court on Friday.
A 27 year old woman who just over a year ago won $1 million with Florida Lottery has been arrested in a major drugs bust which included 20 suspected individuals taken into custody last week.
Karlee Harbst of Port Orange was charged with solicitation to deliver heroin and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Harbst- a mother of a one year old made her first court appearance Friday the Miami Herald reported.
Harbst’s arrest comes in stark contrast to events a year earlier. The then expectant mother had been strapped for money, but found Lady Luck when she won a million dollar windfall in the $5,000,000 Gold Rush Doubler game. The win came a week after having won $100 playing another lottery.
Karlee Harbst lottery win was suppose to cap a history of lengthy arrests:
The wins capped a troubled past for the Florida woman who had already racked up a number of drug possession arrests, petit theft, contempt of court and driving with a suspended license charges in Volusia County, according to court records.
Perhaps Habst had finally turned the corner and was now on a winning streak.
But somewhere along the way (perhaps with her new vast cash reserves)- Harbst got involved with the operators of an extensive drug operation that peddled in heroin, fentanyl and cocaine, according to Florida law enforcement authorities.
‘These are not nice people,’ Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood told the Daytona Beach News-Journal last week, referring to the alleged ringleaders and others who were arrested.
Karlee Harbst: How big was the lottery winner’s role in ‘Operation: Smooth Criminal,’ drugs bust?
Authorities hope that the bust, dubbed ‘Operation: Smooth Criminal,’ will help reduce drug traffic in an area that saw some 300 drug-related deaths between 2017 and 2018.
Nine of the suspects were linked to the organization while others were nabbed in a series of raids in Volusia County.
Volusia County, which includes Daytona Beach, lies on the Atlantic coast of Florida, northeast of Orlando.
Back when Harbst won the lottery, she appeared on local TV and said she bought the ticket because of its number, the Miami Herald reported.
‘When I saw the ticket was number 24, I had to get it. Twenty-four is my favorite number,’ she reportedly told Orlando’s WESH-TV.
It appears Lady Luck may have finally run its course ….
Judge sets bond at $50,000 for Karlee Harbst pic.twitter.com/AsIUCBsD0k
— Mike Springer WFTV (@mspringerwftv) May 17, 2019
Sunday’s Crime Stoppers “Twit” of the day is Karlee Harbst. If you’ve seen her, call us @ 1-800-780-TIPS (8477). pic.twitter.com/iFMiTjrDHt
— SWFL Crime Stoppers (@SWFLCrime8477) September 28, 2014
