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Wednesday, October 01 2008 |
By CHRIS MEYERS
Staff writer
What started out as a call from a motorist concerned that people in a car nearby on the highway were using some type of drug paraphernalia ended up resulting in the seizure of several marijuana pipes, marijuana and nitrous oxide canisters Monday morning near Columbia City.
According to Indiana State Police, a driver on U.S. 30 called 911 to report that he had seen the occupants in a car on the highway smoking from some type of glass pipe.
State troopers and local sheriff’s deputies stopped the car on U.S. 30 near state Route 205 and found two bags of marijuana, scales, seven pipes, a large water pipe and about 20 nitrous oxide canisters, according to arresting officers.
Police said the driver, 26-year-old Shawn K. Haro of Melvindale, Mich., initially denied any wrongdoing, but one of his passengers told police where the items were in the car and what they had been doing before being stopped.
According to police, those in the car had been huffing the nitrous oxide canisters, but were unsure how recently they had done so.
Haro was charged with possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, operating while intoxicated on a controlled substance, and use or distribution of nitrous oxide, all misdemeanor offenses. He was held on a $19,000 bond.
One of his passengers, 18-year-old Kevin M. Torongeau of Wyandott, Mich., was charged with the same offenses — with the exception of the OWI charge — and was held on a $13,000 bond, according to Whitley County Jail records.
Another passenger, a 16-year-old female, was cited into the local probation department and released to her parents.
Haro and Torongeau are scheduled to appear in Whitley Superior Court on Monday.
According to statements given to police, the two men were helping the girl move to the Warsaw area.
Officers with the Whitley County Drug Task Force also assisted at the scene.
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Last Updated ( Thursday, October 02 2008 )
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