A Bay County woman was sentenced to 5 years in prison Wednesday after a jury needed only 15 minutes to find her guilty of drug trafficking, State Attorney Larry Basford announced.
Ellisa Williams, 45, of Panama City, was found guilty as charged of Trafficking in Methamphetamine (between 14 grams and 28 grams) Wednesday. Circuit Court Judge Brandon Young sentenced Williams to 5 years in prison – by Statute the first 3 years of that is minimum-mandatory. Williams also was fined $50,000.
Prosecutor Andrew Eppling only needed three witnesses to prove the State’s case. Two of them were Panama City Police Officers Matt Taylor and Cpl. Joe Hutchinson. Their bodycam footage showed the drugs being found in Williams’ purse on Nov. 16, 2025, and captured Williams’ admissions to having picked up the drugs for transport. The defendant’s purse had just under 28 grams of methamphetamine in it.
“The quick verdict shows the excellent work on this case by the Panama City Police Department,” Eppling said. “The support staff at the State Attorney’s Office also did a great job of bringing everything together to achieve a successful outcome.
“Our office is committed to make sure anyone who traffic narcotics in Bay County will be brought to justice and held accountable for the harm they are causing the community.”
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The evidence showed officer Taylor was on patrol that day near West 19th Street and Michigan Avenue when he spotted the defendant in a vehicle that appeared to have illegally tinted windows. The law requires a driver’s side window to allow at least 28% “visible light transmission.” Taylor measured the VLT at 5.4%, well below the legal limit.
Taylor smelled marijuana and since neither occupant held a medical marijuana card, K-9 Arson was deployed. Arson alerted near the driver’s door and a black purse. A subsequent search turned up bulk of the methamphetamine in a red purse-like carrier near the black purse, which had a small amount of methamphetamine in it.
Williams told Cpl. Hutchinson, and it was captured on his bodycam, that she and the driver had gone to Callaway to pick up an ounce of meth to deliver to someone else. She also admitted the red bag was hers.
Basford thanked the Panama City Police Department for its proactive patrolling and work on the case.
For more information, contact Mike Cazalas at mike.cazalas@sa14.fl.gov, or call 850-381-7454.