Patrol leads to drug arrest, felony charge

BELMONT — A 40-year-old Gosport man has been charged with a felony after police reported finding methamphetamine in his vehicle.

On April 4, Deputy Nicholson Briles was patrolling T.C. Steele and Kent roads after receiving information about possible drug activity in the area. A caller reported that a black vehicle in the 5700 block was picking up a resident and using drugs in the vehicle.

Briles found a black Dodge SUV parked in the middle of the road. The taillights were not on but the vehicle was running, his report said.

Briles found Ralph Robertson of Gosport sleeping in the driver seat. Robertson told Briles that he was waiting for a woman at the house, but fell asleep. The woman’s parents reportedly did not want Robertson on their property, so he waited in the road. Briles explained to him that he could not wait in the road, as it was dangerous and poorly lit.

Robertson was unable to tell the deputy the name of the person he was picking up from the house. He gave Briles verbal consent to search his vehicle.

Briles reported finding a drawstring bag with a digital scale in it, and a clear blag with “3.69” written on it containing a white powdery substance that appeared to be crystal methamphetamine, his report said.

After being read his rights, Robertson told police he did not know what the bag and its contents were.

While he was being taken to jail, Robertson told Briles that the car was his wife’s and the meth was not his, nor had he used any. He couldn’t explain how the drugs got into the car.

Robertson was charged on April 8 with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.

Local woman charged with drug possession

BELMONT — A 35-year-old woman was arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine, marijuana and paraphernalia on April 5 after she was found hiding in a bathroom.

Indiana State Trooper Matt Hatchett, Deputy Nick Briles and Sergeant Chad Williams responded to a home in the 5700 block of Kent Road to search for Lacey Gott after she had run into the woods after a verbal dispute. She had an active warrant out of Monroe County, according to the police report.

After Briles and Williams left the scene, Hatchett remained to conduct an “area canvas.” The homeowner told him that Gott was hiding in their bathroom. Hatchett retrieved his K-9 partner, Axe and conducted a sweep of the residence.

After Hatchett told Gott twice that a K9 was there, she opened the door. She was escorted outside.

The homeowner told Hatchett that Gott had left two bags in the home. Hatchett found a Monster energy drink can in the drawstring bag and noticed the weight of the can was not proportionate to an average can. He unscrewed the top of the can, which revealed a bag of marijuana and a bag of methamphetamine. He also reported finding a glass pipe used to smoke methamphetamine, and a taser/stun gun in the black container.

Gott told Hatchett that the bags were hers, but a friend had given her the can a few days before. She told him she used methamphetamine, but not marijuana.

Gott was taken to the Brown County jail. She was charged on April 6 with  one count of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony; possession of marijuana; a Class B misdemeanor; and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.

Woman charged with felony for residential entry

JACKSON TWP. — A 36-year-old Bloomington woman was arrested and charged with a Level 6 felony after police say she entered a house without permission.

On March 21, Deputy Nicholson Briles responded to the 5700 block of Turner Road on a report of a woman entering that home. The complainant said that her nephew was there, inside with the trespasser, later identified as Summer Goldsberry, 36, of Bloomington. The caller had allowed the woman to used the restroom, then called her nephew and 911.

The caller told police that Goldsberry sounded confused. When Briles asked Goldsberry what she was doing in the house, she told him she was lost and needed to use the restroom.

The officer told her it was against the law to walk into someone’s house without their permission, of which she was aware. She told him that she had knocked and yelled for someone, but no one came to the door, so she walked in.

The nephew told police that he had seen Goldsberry parked in a driveway on Tunnel Road in Monroe County earlier in the day, around 9 a.m. Around 3 p.m., he saw her vehicle again on State Road 135 South and it appeared that she was driving erratically, unable to maintain her lane and consistent speed, the police report said. When his aunt called him to describe the person in her house, he arrived to find the same vehicle he had seen earlier in the day.

Goldsberry told police she needed to drive to that house because she believed she was being followed by a dark truck.

She was arrested and taken to the Brown County jail.

Helmsburg woman charged with battery

HELMSBURG — A 36-year-old Helmsburg woman has been charged with battery after a dispute at a home on North Street.

On March 3, Deputy Kyle Minor responded to a physical domestic situation at the home. He saw a teenager speaking on the phone outside and noticed that he was limping.

Minor asked the teen if he needed medical attention, to which he said no. He told Minor that Loretta Scott had hit him with a mop in the leg and the back of the head.

The teen said that another woman at the scene had told him to lie to police; otherwise, they’d take her to jail. He told police that both women had been drinking and Scott was kicking a dog inside the house. The teen told her to stop, and she hit him.

The other woman told police that she was leaving and the kids could go with her, and Scott got mad and hit her in the leg with a mop. She told police that Scott also hit her in the head. She refused EMS service.

The other woman told police she lied to protect Scott because she did not want either of them to go to jail.

19-year-old faces misdemeanor charge

A local teenager has been charged a Class B misdemeanor for possession of marijuana after an officer reported seeing him smoking in the Pat Reilly parking lot in Nashville.

Deputy William Pool was monitoring the lot on Jefferson Street on March 13, knowing high school students frequent the area for drug use before and after school hours, his report said.

After watching the parking lot with his binoculars, Pool noticed a young male smoking an electronic cigarette. He was surrounded by younger looking males, one of whom Pool knew to be a juvenile.

Pool approached the subject with the e-cigarette, who identified himself as Lucas Patrick and that he was 19. Pool asked Patrick what he was smoking. Patrick handed him the e-cigarette and Pool identified the substance as marijuana. Patrick told police the substance was hashish oil, the police report said.

Patrick, of Spearsville Road, told Pool the e-cigarette belonged to his brother, but the cartridge was his.

Patrick was released from the scene with a summons to appear in court. He was formally charged on April 7.