A Columbus woman faces a felony in Brown County for unlawfully possessing a syringe after a vehicle she was riding in was stopped for reckless driving.

Shortly after 9:15 a.m. May 27, Brown County dispatch received a report from an ambulance that there was a reckless driver on State Road 46 East at the Brown/Bartholomew county line heading west. Ambulance staff reported seeing the driver make at least one unsafe pass which resulted in a vehicle running off the road to avoid a collision.

The ambulance was able to point the vehicle out to Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Eggebrecht, who was sitting at the intersection of 46 East and Mt. Liberty Road.

When Eggebrecht pulled out behind the vehicle, it immediately pulled into the GnawMart gas station parking lot. Eggebrecht talked with the driver as he was walking toward the gas station.

The driver said he had passed a vehicle, but did not think it was dangerous. Eggebrecht noted that the driver was anxiously looking around and visibly shaking. When Eggebrecht stopped talking with him, he went back to his vehicle and proceeded to drive east on 46 East.

Eggebrecht ran the driver’s information through the dispatch system and found that the driver had a suspended license. He was able to catch up with the vehicle after it made a couple more turns, and stopped it in front of Wright’s Auto Parts on Old State Road 46.

The driver was unable to find a current insurance card. The passenger, Sunshine N. Johnson, 31, was able to give Eggebrecht her identification information verbally. Eggebrecht reported that Johnson was visibly shaking and the driver was sweating “profusely,” the affidavit states.

The driver said the vehicle belonged to his wife’s parents, with whom he lived, and that he had permission to drive it. When asked for a phone number for the owner, the driver was “very hesitant” and would not provide one, the report said. Because the driver and Johnson did not have valid driver’s licenses and there was no proof of insurance, a wrecker was called to tow the vehicle.

While doing an vehicle inventory, Eggebrecht reported finding a syringe and a spoon with residue on it in a plastic shopping bag in the front passenger seat where Johnson was. The bag also had pieces of jewelry and women’s clothing inside.

While placing Johnson under arrest, Eggebrecht reported seeing “track marks” on her right arm that are consistent with the use of a syringe, the report said. He also reported finding an uncapped syringe, a spoon with residue on it, and a corner of a baggie directly behind the front passenger seat.

An officer with the Columbus Police Department went to the vehicle owner’s home in Columbus. The owner said the driver lived there and had permission to drive the vehicle previously, but not that day. The owner did not want to pursue charges.

The driver was issued a summons for driving while suspended, but at press time charges had not been filed against him. He was able to leave the scene.

Johnson was taken to the Brown County jail. On May 31, she was charged with unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony, and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.