Broken tail light leads to stop, drug arrest
Share
Tweet
April 30, 2017
A drug dog alerting caused officers to search a vehicle stopped for a traffic infraction in Alva. The two occupants have been charged with drug possession felonies.
According to court documents, on Tuesday, April 18, about 4:55 p.m. Woods County Deputy Adam Honeyman saw a 2003 Chevrolet S-10 pickup stop at First and Barnes. It appeared not to have a working left brake light. He followed the pickup to the next stop sign and confirmed he could not see a left brake light.
Honeyman activated his emergency lights and conducted a traffic stop of the pickup which was driven by Heath Ray Tomberlin. The driver said he put red tape over the busted light and worried it was too thick to see the light through. Honeyman asked Tomberlin to have a seat in his patrol vehicle.
While Honeyman checked information for Tomberlin and his passenger, Alva Police K-9 Officer Patrick Hawley arrived and ran his canine “Duke” around the pickup. He reported a positive alert to the odor of illegal narcotics.
Deputy Honeyman noted that he saw a distinct change in behavior by Tomberlin when he saw the officer and canine. When Honeyman asked if there would be a reason for the canine to alert, Tomberlin said “not that I know of.”
A search of the vehicle revealed 10 pieces of aluminum foil with burnt residue, a straw used for snorting methamphetamine with residue, two pill bottles containing methamphetamine residue, and one tobacco tin containing a small amount of methamphetamine. The items were found in the front seat of the pickup between where Tomberlin and his passenger Teresa Altobella were sitting.
Neither Tomberlin nor Altobella acknowledged knowing anything about the substances found in the pickup. Both were arrested and transported to the Woods County Jail.
On April 20, both Heath Ray Tomberlin, 37, of Alva and Teresa Lorena Altobella, 47, of Alva were charged with possession of controlled dangerous substance (methamphetamine), a felony. This crime is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years and a fine of not more than $5,000.
Reader Comments(0)