A Cantonment woman arrested for shoplifting overdosed on fentanyl inside the Escambia County Jail, according to an arrest report.

Academy Sports on Davis Highway reported that 34-year old Erika Diane Martin, 34, shoplifted assorted items valued at $331.40.

Once an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputy transported Martin to the Escambia County Jail, she was processed and searched by jail staff members before being placed in a holding cell. After 10-15 minutes, she was found unconscious on the floor with a bag containing a white powder substance that tested positive for fentanyl on a bench, according to an ECSO arrest report.

Jail staff and medical personnel rendered medical aid, and Martin was transported to a local hospital by Escambia County EMS. At the hospital, she told a deputy that the bag containing fentanyl was hidden in her bra, and she did not surrender it because she forgot it was there.

“I snorted it,” Martin told the deputy, according to the report.

After being discharged from the hospital, Martin was charged with felony theft, introduction into a county facility, possession of a controlled substance and tampering with physical evidence.

The felony theft charge stemmed from the alleged shoplifting incident at Academy Sports. Deputies arrived at the store to find Martin inside where store personnel said Martin was wearing Vans tennis shoes and blue shorts that belonged to the store. A search of her person found two men’s Nike t-shirts and a bluetooth speaker in her pockets, a cell phone charger around her neck, along with sunglasses, earphones, men’s swim trunks, a Gerber knife and other items on her person, according to an arrest report. The tags had been removed from all of the items, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

Martin remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $30,000.

18 Responses to “Cantonment Woman Overdoses On Fentanyl Inside Jail After Shoplifting Arrest, ESCO Says”

She literally had one of everything in the store its sounds like. With a little to much bump to sleep those charges off. Geez

She appears on jail view 20 different times. You can see her decline over the last few years in her pictures. She has made bad decisions over and over again.

Life is about choice. She made the wrong one.

REGARDING: “people who know nothing about anything are always available to give advice.”

In the words of Lurch: “You rang?”

What did everyone of these comments solve. Thats right..on the the next story…

Yep, this is your brain in drugs. The picture alone should be enough to scare people away from it and yet, here we are.

@Fredtp You are correct. However, I am afraid that they will not do anything to address this problem until a C.O or other jail staff comes into contact with the fentanyl itself and gets hurt.

@Obie1 Dude it’s our tax money we have a right to say something also you are short sighted it’s not about them not doing “a good enough job” it’s about the wrong people getting hurt because someone didn’t have the training or the patience to do the job correctly.

She just made the searches of female prisoners more intrusive and embarrassing.

@Obie It seems to me that people who know nothing about anything are always available to give advice.

Sounds like adequate searches are not being performed or there is an inside connection…

I totally agree with Obie. How much tax payers’ money should be thrown into improving this and that? Money does not solve our school problems, judicial problems, and a lot of things that could function better. If people want to self destruct – let them. folks who are eager to criticize ; volunteer a couple of nights and deal with this nonsense day after day. You cannot help someone who refuses help- period!!!

Or @Obie 1, novel idea here but people could just do THEIR own jobs? Why is it our responsibility to come in and correct it?

Very sad that this girl is so confused. I hope she has people who love her that she will listen to. She hasn’t listened so far.

This is the 2nd incident in recent months a person in jail has had access to fentanyl, one of which lead to a death. Are folks being searched properly? Is someone on the inside supplying drugs? Glad appropriate aid was rendered in time to save this woman’s life.

@Fredtp, be all means please become a corrections officer and correct this problem! If not, shut your pie hole!

Treat the jail like ECAT, ECUA and ECFR….. Just throw more money at hoping for improvements….

Sounds like the jail needs to improve their searches or hold training on proper more thorough searches.

Sad story that’s been going on for years.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under MORE TOP STORIES 

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