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Woman Spends Weeks In Jail After Cops Mistook SpaghettiO Sauce On Spoon In Her Car For Narcotics
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Woman Spends Weeks In Jail After Cops Mistook SpaghettiO Sauce On Spoon In Her Car For Narcotics

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An innocent woman lost her job and spent weeks behind bars after a police officer erroneously thought she was doing drugs.

Ashley Gabrielle Huff was only 23 years old when she was charged with methamphetamine possession. Her story of wrongfully being arrested in 2014 has resurfaced online, leaving netizens baffled.

The unusual series of events began when an officer from the Gainesville police department flagged the woman’s 1994 Ford Explorer down for a routine traffic stop.

Highlights
  • Ashley Huff was wrongfully jailed for weeks over SpaghettiO sauce mistaken for meth.
  • The then-23-year-old lost her job and missed her child's birthday due to the arrest.
  • Crime lab tests eventually proved the residue was SpaghettiO sauce, not drugs.
  • The story resurfaced on Reddit, sparking disbelief and criticism of the police.

Ashley Gabrielle Huff was arrested at age 23 and erroneously charged with methamphetamine possession

Image credits: Gabriel Hohol

Image credits: ABC 10 News

The officer raised suspicion after finding a spoon in the car with what appeared to be some sort of residue.

Found inside the commuter’s bag, the spoon contained a “clear, crystal-like substance,” the officer claimed in the police report. He also described Ashley’s demeanor as “nervous.”

Ashley insisted that the substance on the spoon was nothing more than SpaghettiO sauce.

“We had been riding around, and I threw the can in the trash because I was eating them straight out of the can,” she was quoted telling the Gainesville Times following the incident. “I just threw the spoon in my purse because I had borrowed it from a friend — the can of the SpaghettiOs and the spoon.”

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The California woman tried explain to officers that the substance on the spoon found in her car was SpaghettiO sauce

Image credits: Hall County Sheriff’s Office

The wrongfully accused woman vehemently told the officer that the residue was merely from some SpaghettiOs and that there was no way she could be linked to drugs. But the officer suspected that it was bits of meth left on the spoon.

“I found it strange that she would eat SpaghettiOs with a metal spoon while riding in a vehicle, and then put the spoon back in a bag,” the report said.

Ashley was arrested and kept in prison for about a month until a crime lab test proved that she was telling the truth: the harmless substance on the spoon was nothing more than spaghetti sauce.

Describing the entire ordeal as “stressful,” the Florida woman had to miss her child’s birthday and even lost her job at Waffle House because of her imprisonment.

“I found it strange that she would eat SpaghettiOs with a metal spoon while riding in a vehicle, and then put the spoon back in a bag,” an officer stated in the police report at the time

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Image credits: RDNE Stock project

Image credits: SpaghettiOs

“It was so stressful,” she said. “Nobody believed me. I said I had SpaghettiOs on my spoon. Nobody believed that. Everybody thought it was hilarious, but that was exactly what it was.”

About a decade later, the story still left readers shocked after the story resurfaced on Reddit.

“Any cop that mistakes spaghetti O sauce for meth shouldn’t have a job,” one Reddit user said while another quipped, “Im gonna start carrying around a bunch of spoons with dried up yogurt residue on it and just wait to be arrested. Few days in jail for a fat payout? Sure.”

“That is the face of a woman who knows she’s going to win a massive lawsuit….” another wrote.

“This is actually scary if you think about it,” one social media user said about the incident

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Binitha Jacob

Binitha Jacob

Writer, BoredPanda staff

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Working as a writer for Bored Panda offers an added layer of excitement. By afternoon, I'm fully immersed in the whirlwind of celebrity drama, and by evening, I'm navigating through the bustling universe of likes, shares, and clicks. This role not only allows me to delve into the fascinating world of pop culture but also lets me do what I love: weave words together and tell other people's captivating stories to the world

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Binitha Jacob

Binitha Jacob

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Working as a writer for Bored Panda offers an added layer of excitement. By afternoon, I'm fully immersed in the whirlwind of celebrity drama, and by evening, I'm navigating through the bustling universe of likes, shares, and clicks. This role not only allows me to delve into the fascinating world of pop culture but also lets me do what I love: weave words together and tell other people's captivating stories to the world

Donata Leskauskaite

Donata Leskauskaite

Author, BoredPanda staff

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Hey there! I'm a Visual Editor in News team. My responsibility is to ensure that you can read the story not just through text, but also through photos. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from celebrity drama to mind-blowing Nasa cosmic news. And let me tell you, that's what makes this job an absolute blast! Outside of work, you can find me sweating it out in dance classes or unleashing my creativity by drawing and creating digital paintings of different characters that lives in my head. I also love spending time outdoors and play board games with my friends.

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Donata Leskauskaite

Donata Leskauskaite

Author, BoredPanda staff

Hey there! I'm a Visual Editor in News team. My responsibility is to ensure that you can read the story not just through text, but also through photos. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from celebrity drama to mind-blowing Nasa cosmic news. And let me tell you, that's what makes this job an absolute blast! Outside of work, you can find me sweating it out in dance classes or unleashing my creativity by drawing and creating digital paintings of different characters that lives in my head. I also love spending time outdoors and play board games with my friends.

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TheBlueBitterfly
Community Member
1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Anybody remember the guy arrested for "suspicious white powder" that turned out to be from donuts? And those field tests are straight up garbage, just like a lot of the "instant" drûg tests. (I've failed drûg tests for substances I've never used or even been around or know where to get!) And the officer saying she was acting nervous? Who ISN'T nervous when they get pulled over‽‽ Police are so busy looking for a crime, any crime, that innocent people quite often get thrown under the bus, while real crime happens right in front of them.

Dot Otto
Community Member
1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's that marinara meth with oregano and garlic that the kids are all eating these days right?

Load More Comments
TheBlueBitterfly
Community Member
1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Anybody remember the guy arrested for "suspicious white powder" that turned out to be from donuts? And those field tests are straight up garbage, just like a lot of the "instant" drûg tests. (I've failed drûg tests for substances I've never used or even been around or know where to get!) And the officer saying she was acting nervous? Who ISN'T nervous when they get pulled over‽‽ Police are so busy looking for a crime, any crime, that innocent people quite often get thrown under the bus, while real crime happens right in front of them.

Dot Otto
Community Member
1 month ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's that marinara meth with oregano and garlic that the kids are all eating these days right?

Load More Comments
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