Carson City arrests: Woman jailed for drug possession after driving too slow

A 40 year-old Sparks woman was arrested Friday night for suspicion of felony drug possession and a lesser charge after the vehicle she was driving had been stopped for impeding traffic, a Carson City sheriff's deputy reported.

Christon Marie Shepard was placed in custody for suspicion of possessing methamphetamine, a felony offense, after sheriff's deputies pulled her vehicle over for going too slow and impeding the flow of traffic, the arrest report said. She was taken into custody at 9:47 p.m. in the area of Deer Run Road and U.S. Highway 50 East. She also faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.

According to one deputy on scene, the vehicle had been observed crossing the fog line and failing to maintain its travel lane while traveling at only 43 miles per hour (mph) in a 55 mph speed zone.

Contact was made with the driver, Shepard, and a female passenger; both of whom were asked to exit the vehicle while a K-9 unit performed an exterior sniff.

The K-9 officer indicated a positive alert signal, the report said, resulting in Miranda warnings being given.

When asked by a deputy why the drug-sniffing K-9 would react that way to the vehicle, both Shepard and her said they didn't know.

The passenger did admit to having recently been released from jail for drug charges and was in the drug court program, the report said, but she declined to speak with deputies about her drug use. Shepard was also questioned about drug use, the report said, and she initially stated she last used two years ago.

After further questioning, though, Shepard stated her last use had been one year ago and then 10 days ago when she had smoked meth, the report said.

An interior vehicle search was conducted during subject questioning and subsequent to the K-9 positive alert. Before anything had been recovered, though, Shepard told the interviewing deputy that the back pack in the pickup did not belong to her, the report said.

When questioned about the backpack, Shepard at first refused to say who it belonged to. Then she stated the item belonged to her boyfriend, who she said had placed it in the truck.

Inside the backpack deputies located a scale, multiple plastic baggies and a meth pipe and residue on that tested presumptive positive for meth, the report said.

The pickup Shepard was driving belonged to her, the report said. Because the backpack with its contents were located inside of the vehicle and Shepard knew it was there, she was taken into custody, the report said.

She was transported to the Carson City Jail for booking without incident. Bail: $3,851.

In other arrests:
— A 40 year-old Carson City woman was arrested Friday evening at 5:57 p.m. in the area of N. Carson and E. Park streets for gross misdemeanor evidence destruction, a Carson City sheriff's deputy reported, as well as misdemeanor ex-felon failing to register and violation of a suspended sentence.

According to the arrest report, sheriff's deputies conducting surveillance in the area had received information that a female at the location was selling methamphetamine.

She was observed leaving a first-floor motel room and riding a bicycle southbound on N. Carson Street before crossing east at a crosswalk at Park, where she was stopped by deputies, the report said.

The woman, Mirandized before speaking with deputies, stated she had a previous felony conviction out of Arkansas and had been living out of a motel room in Carson City for more than a week, the report said.

A criminal history check on the woman confirmed two felony convictions in Arkansas. She was not registered in Carson City as a convicted person, the report said.

When queried about drugs, the woman admitted that she had about one gram of meth in her pants pocket. Detained in handcuffs at that point, the woman consented to a search, which did not recover any drugs.

When asked what had happened to the meth, the woman stated she had ditched it into the bushes when she saw law enforcement upon exiting the motel room, the report said.

The drugs, though, were unable to be located even after the suspect showed deputies where she had discarded the baggie.

A consented search of the woman's cell phone did recover a text message from someone asking to meet her and if she "had that 30," common street terminology for a 20-sack of meth, the report said.

The evidence appeared to indicate the woman had been in possession of drugs and was on her way to sell them, but the substance had been discarded when the suspect saw law enforcement, the report said.

The woman was placed into custody and transported to the Carson City Jail, where the Department of Alternative Sentencing (DAS) was notified and requested the additional misdemeanor charge of violating probation. Bail: $3,937.

— A 52 year-old Mound House man was arrested Friday afternoon at 4:02 p.m. in the area of Koontz Lane and Hillview Drive for misdemeanor second-offense driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs and an outstanding failure to appear warrant, a Carson City Sheriff's deputy reported.

According to the arrest report, a traffic stop was made on a black GMC pickup with suspended registration.

Contact was made at the driver's side window, behind which the driver was making a phone call asking for a ride.

The smell of alcohol was noted to be coming from the driver, who displayed red, watery eyes and exhibited slurred speech, the report said.

The driver denied having been consuming alcohol when queried. He consented to standard field sobriety tests (SFSTs), which demonstrated eight of 12 clues of impairment, the report said.

A preliminary breath test (PBT) also consented to showed breath-alcohol content (BAC) of .015 percent, but SFST signs indicated the suspect was under the influence of a controlled substance, the report said.

A records check through Carson City Dispatch showed the suspect had a revoked driver's license as well as a misdemeanor warrant issued by the Carson City Justice Court for failure to appear on a traffic violation.

The suspect's records also showed a criminal history with multiple DUI arrests, including a third felony arrest with guilty plea but no disposition on the charge.

He had a first offense DUI arrest in 2017 with no disposition as well, the report said.

The suspect was taken into custody and transported to the Carson City Jail for booking. Bail: $3,351.

All information for the crime log (unless otherwise noted) comes from the arrest reports supplied by the Carson City Sheriff's Office, and is considered by law to be public information. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The policy of Carson Now is to name anyone who is arrested for a felony offense.