A 21-year-old woman is facing a raft of charges including drug possession stemming from a routine traffic stop in Wisconsin on Jan. 24. A Juneau County Sheriff’s Office deputy and a Wisconsin State Trooper pulled the woman’s Chevrolet Impala over near Lemonweir after allegedly observing it being driven erratically on County Road K. A caller had earlier told police that the car was blocking both lanes of County Road J as its driver attempted to make a U-turn.
The trooper says that he became suspicious when the woman spoke incoherently and he detected the odor of marijuana emanating from her vehicle. The woman is said to have denied taking or possessing drugs, but reports suggest that she changed her story when pressed. The woman was taken into custody after admitting to the trooper that she was carrying drugs.
According to reports, a subsequent search of the Chevrolet yielded a glass pipe containing a green leafy substance, a plastic bag containing what appeared to be the same green leafy substance, a device used to grind prescription pills into powder, a scale and rolling papers. Officers also claim to have found two unmarked pill bottles in the woman’s purse containing a variety of medications. The woman is said to have told officers that she obtained the pills from her friends.
Police officers are skilled at convincing those facing drug charges that a confession will result in more lenient treatment, but experienced criminal defense attorneys would likely advise their clients to make no admissions or incriminating statements before speaking with them. Attorneys could remind their clients that most drug cases are settled at the negotiating table and not in a courtroom, and they may point out that prosecutors are generally more flexible when their cases are not bolstered by confessions.
Source: Juneau County Star-Times, “Drugs found in Wisconsin Dells woman’s car”, Jake Ekdahl, Feb. 6, 2018
