Carson City sheriff’s crime log: Woman jailed after deputies find meth inside stolen car

A 46-year-old Carson City woman was arrested Friday in the area of Stanton and Woodside streets on suspicion of possession of a stolen car and meth for sale, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

Arrested was Sandi Aldrich. She also faces misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. According to the report, officers were advised that the owner of a stolen vehicle had just seen her car in the area of Woodside and Siskiyou streets.

Dispatch advised the car was confirmed stolen in the National Crime Information Center and the victim was following the vehicle. A Carson City sheriff’s sergeant made the traffic stop. Another officer arrived and saw a single female occupant, Aldrich, who had her hands out the window. The woman followed commands to exit the vehicle as instructed and she was placed into handcuffs and into a patrol car.

Officers read the woman her Miranda rights, in which she understood and waived in order to speak. She said she hadn’t stolen the car, she was just borrowing it. She explained the victim lent her the vehicle because she was moving into a new place. She said she was supposed to have returned the car a day prior but had not. She said she tried to knock on the victim’s door to return the vehicle but she wasn’t home and therefore kept the car.

The woman appeared to be a frequent user of meth and told the officer she used meth either the day prior or that day and that there was meth in the car, though she didn’t know how much. Using K9 Tarzan, an exterior sniff of the vehicle was done and the dog gave a positive alert. At the right rear passenger door, the dog pushed his nose against the seam of the door base, sniffed heavily, salivated and sat staring intently at the door, the arrest report states.

During a search of the car, officers found a brown purse with a wallet. In the wallet were 3 individual baggies with meth. Two of the baggies were identical and one was colored yellow and smaller than the other two. In the left rear passenger seat was a blue purse. In that purse the officer found a marijuana grinder and what appeared to be about a gram of marijuana in it.

Next to that were several marijuana bongs. Also located was a cylinder tube which appeared to be used for inserting and concealing narcotics inside one’s body. The tubes pulled away from each other, and the inner one was covered in a white, creamy substance.

Aldrich was arrested for possession of stolen property, possession of controlled substance for sales due to the multiple baggies of meth, both felonies, and possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

At jail the officer spoke with her and asked if she’d planned on selling the meth. She said she wasn’t going to sell it. The officer said he’d never seen a person with only personal use that had more than one baggie. She told the officer she didn’t know. The officer asked her if she could guess, and she said “I don’t know, maybe $60 a teener?” Bail: $31,874.

In other arrests:
— A 45-year-old Dayton man, Donald Eugene Ford, was arrested Friday, 6:10 p.m. in the area of Fairview and South Lompa Lane on a felony charge of domestic battery, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.

According to the arrest report, deputies were called to a fast food restaurant in the 3900 block of South Carson Street at 5:27 p.m. Prior to arrival dispatch advised a reporting witness was mobile in their vehicle, following the suspect vehicle on Fairview and South Lompa. The officer made contact with the reporting witness who stated that the suspect, Ford, and a woman were in a vehicle in the parking lot. Both began to argue and the man allegedly struck the woman in the head with a closed fist several times. It was witnessed by two people.

A female witness verbally attempted to stop the assault. Ford and the woman spoke with her and then fled the scene in their vehicle. The reporting witness followed. The officer spoke with the victim who confirmed that she and the man have been dating for several years. She told officers that both were arguing but denied being battered. She had minor injuries throughout her body including what appeared to be swelling above her right eye. She was uncooperative with information and intoxicated.

The officer made contact with Ford who denied any type of battery. He stated he was just putting his hands in the air but denied putting his hands on the woman. He confirmed both are in a dating relationship.

Based on witness accounts, the officer determined Ford to be the primary aggressor. A criminal history check showed that he was convicted in 2013 for domestic battery with strangulation, a felony. He was charged with felony domestic battery. Bail: $15,000.

— A 25-year-old Gardnerville man, Matthew Fitzgerald, was arrested Friday, 7:43 p.m. in the 4600 block of South Carson Street on felony drug charges, possession of cocaine and heroin and four misdemeanor charges. According to the arrest report, a sergeant assigned as supervisor for the Carson City Sheriff’s Office Special Enforcement Team was traveling southbound on Carson Street from Clearview when he pulled next to a vehicle and observed the driver texting on his phone while driving.

The officer activated his lights and the vehicle pulled into a gas station in the 4600 block of South Caron Street. The officer contacted the driver and told him the reason for the stop. Fitzgerald apologized for using his phone while driving. He was unable to prove a current insurance card. While completing his citation,a deputy arrived with a K9 and conducted an exterior sniff of the car.

Fitzgerald stated without prompting that he had “some nuggets” of marijuana in the car. The K9 alerted and a search of the vehicle was conducted. A deputy located a black bag under the driver’s seat that contained cocaine and heroin inside. He also located some marijuana inside another container under the seat, the arrest report states.

Fitzgerald was read his Miranda rights in which he waived and talked to the officers. He stated he used heroin a couple hours prior. A deputy performed standardized field sobriety tests in which he was unable to perform satisfactorily. He gave consent to draw blood. He was arrested on charges of possession of cocaine and heroin, both felonies, and using a cell phone while driving, no proof of insurance, possession of less than an ounce of marijuana, and DUI drugs. Bail: $7,723.

— A 44-year-old Carson City man was arrested Friday, 5:29 p.m. in the 800 block of East Fifth Street on a misdemeanor charge of failing to register. Bail: $237.

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.