GNAW BONE — A Brown County woman was arrested for possession of heroin and syringes after a vehicle she was riding was stopped by an Indiana State Police trooper.
Trooper Matt Hatchett conducted the stop just before 9:30 p.m. Dec. 17 on Mt. Liberty Road. For about 3 miles, Hatchett had reportedly been traveling behind the vehicle, which was driving 5 MPH below the speed limit, after it pulled out of the Circle K gas station on State Road 46 East. The vehicle then turned into the Country Mark gas station, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Hatchett noticed after he drove by that the vehicle left the gas station before turning again onto Mt. Liberty Road and almost immediately into a driveway. The vehicle failed to signal the turn into the driveway, so he initiated a traffic stop, the affidavit states.
Two occupants in the vehicle had a history of drug use, Hatchett wrote. Kristy Roberts, 38, of Becks Grove Road, was in the backseat.
Roberts said told police she had only met the two men she was with to get a ride from Nashville. Roberts allowed Hatchett to search her purse, where he reported seeing a purple zippered case. He believed it to be a “drug kit” and asked her to open it.
Inside were seven syringes, including one that contained a substance that field-tested positive for heroin. The case also contained multiple small plastic bags consistent with drug use, Hatchett’s report said.
Roberts was arrested. The two men were searched and released from the scene. The driver was issued a written warning for failing to signal.
On Dec. 18, Roberts was charged with two Level 6 felonies for unlawfully possessing a syringe and a narcotic drug. She also was charged with possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
