JEFFERSON COUNTY — A 32-year-old Mt. Vernon woman arrested and charged last month with drug trafficking has filed an appeal regarding the court’s decision to detain her pending trial under the state’s new Pretrial Fairness portion of the SafeT Act.

Samantha Payne was arrested in September on Class X felonies for trafficking of meth and trafficking of fentanyl, Class 1 felony delivery of between 1 and 15 grams of fentanyl, and Class 2 delivery of meth.

She was taken to the Jefferson County Jail and Judge Jerry Crisel granted the prosecution’s motion to detain her until trial. She subsequently filed an appeal against that decision and was appointed an attorney through the Office of the State Appellate Defender’s Office.

According to Mt. Vernon Police Chief Trent Page, Payne was a passenger in a vehicle where officers reportedly discovered a baggie containing a substance that tested positive as meth. Both Payne and the driver were taken into custody.

However, information led to Payne being transported to the Marion County Jail where officers planned to use a body scanner to determine if she was carrying drugs inside her body. Page says upon arrival officers discovered Payne had apparently removed the items from inside her body, as 49 fentanyl buttons were found in the seat and floorboard of the squad vehicle where she had been seated.

The criminal case is scheduled for a Tuesday morning preliminary hearing in Jefferson County Court.