MITCHELL – A man was arrested Sunday, around 10 p.m. after a Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department officer stopped his vehicle for a seatbelt violation.
According to a probable cause affidavit, the officer was on routine patrol in the area of West Main Street and Teke Burton Drive in Mitchell, when he noticed a pickup truck with three occupants traveling east on West Main Street and the driver was not wearing a seatbelt.
The officer also noticed the driver’s side taillight was out.
The officer stopped the vehicle in the parking lot of Dollar Tree.
There were two males in the front seat and a female in the back seat.
The driver of the vehicle 28-year-old Rodney Miller appeared nervous. Miller told the officer he did not have a valid driver’s license. He was also wanted on a warrant for failure to appear.
A Mitchell Police officer then arrived on the scene and asked the passenger 25-year-old Travis Rainey to step out of the vehicle.
Rainey was wanted on an active warrant and had 10 grams of marijuana in his pocket.
During the incident, Miller requested numerous times to smoke a cigarette. The officer retrieved a pack of Marlboro Black brand cigarettes from the center console however Miller told the officer he didn’t want a cigarette. The officer then searched the vehicle and found another pack of Marlboro Reds behind the driver’s seat. In the cigarette pack, the officer found a small baggy containing 0.5 grams of meth
Rainey admitted the cigarettes and meth were his.
Rainey was arrested on charges of possession of meth and possession of marijuana.
The female passenger was released from the scene.
If you know something, say something. Send an email to drugactivity@lawrencecounty.in.gov or call the Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office tip line at 812-545-4700. All calls are confidential.
