Officers from the Bellefontaine Police Department observed Roger Huffman, 59, operating a Cadillac southbound on Stanley Street from East Sandusky Avenue Thursday evening around 5:30.
Officers were aware that Huffman’s license was suspended and it was confirmed. At the stop sign of Stanley and East Columbus, he failed to stop behind the clearly marked stop bar and turned eastbound without using a turn signal. Huffman then pulled to the side of the roadway and stopped.
A traffic stop was initiated.
When asked why he pulled to the side of the road, he claimed he knew he was going to get stopped. Huffman had an open can of Bud Light in his lap clearly in plain view. There were five other beers that were not opened.
When asked if there was anything else illegal inside the vehicle besides the open container of alcohol, he stated no.
Huffman gave consent to search him and the vehicle.
While searching the vehicle, police located a plastic wrapper from a cigarette pack in the dash area which contained three and a half pills. The pills were white, oval-shaped, and contained the imprint T3. They were identified as 800 mg Gabapentin pills which are a prescription-only pill, making them a dangerous drug to possess. Huffman admitted he did not have a prescription for the pills and forgot they were in the vehicle.
He was handcuffed and secured in the patrol car.
Continuing with the search, officers located a red straw under the driver’s seat which contained a white residue.
Nothing else illegal was located inside the vehicle.
The Gabapentin pills and red straw were both located within the direct possession, reach, and control of Huffman, the sole occupant of the vehicle.
Huffman admitted he got the pills from a known subject and uses them because of pain from a surgery. He also said the straw is used to snort the pills, and the white residue in the straw would be from the pills.
Huffman was arrested for possession of a dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was also issued a citation for driving under suspension and given a warning for the open container of alcohol in the motor vehicle.
He was transported to the Logan County Jail.
