BEDFORD – On Friday, January 27th, Senior Trooper Richard Klun was working the areas of I-69 and State Road 37 during High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Awareness (HIDTA) campaign when a vehicle stop resulted in the arrest of two residents of Lawrence County.
The driver of the vehicle was 29-year-old Jamisha Pantoja, of Bedford. She was stopped for an equipment violation on State Road 37 in Lawrence County by Trooper Ben Burris and Senior Trooper Klun.
During the stop, Troopers also identified 32-year-old Lacie Randolph, of Bedford, as a passenger in the vehicle, along with a 2-year-old female.
As troopers spoke with the women, they observed indicators of criminal activity and Senior Trooper Klun deployed his Police K-9 Loki for a free air sniff. K-9 Loki gave a positive alert for drugs in the vehicle. During a subsequent search, troopers located approximately 60 grams of cocaine, 3 grams of meth, additional controlled substances, digital scales, and a loaded handgun.
Pantoja is facing felony charges of dealing and possession of cocaine, possession of meth, neglect of a dependant, and maintaining a common nuisance.
Randolph is facing charges of dealing and possession of cocaine.
Both women were transported to the Lawrence County Jail. The child was released to the Indiana Department of Child Services.
Senior Trooper Klun was assisted by ISP Sergeant Ian Portteus, Trooper Ben Burris, Trooper Chance Humphrey, Trooper Jeremy Cox, Trooper Curtis Wilder, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department Corporal Brenton Trueblood, and the Indiana Department of Child Services.
The High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. It provides assistance to Federal, State, Local, and Tribal Law Enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States. This grant program is administered by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
