BEDFORD – The charges were dropped against a Springville woman who was arrested when Bedford Police officers were called to Revere’s Food & Fuel in October 2021 after a report of a possible intoxicated male and female in a white Dodge Caravan.
The vehicle was found parked at the gas pumps. A male was walking around the vehicle and a female was inside.
The officer asked 44-year-old Stephanie Hignite to step out of the vehicle.
Police say Hignite was intoxicated. The officers say Hignite had track marks on her arms.
Once placed in the patrol car, Hignite began banging her head off of the metal cage partition in the patrol vehicle and yelling. The officer opened the vehicle door attempting to get Hignite to calm down. She then attempted to get out of the vehicle and had to be forcibly put back into the vehicle.
The male told police he was “screwed up” and Hignite had been driving.
Hignite failed several field sobriety tests. She then admitted to using meth and was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated and operating a vehicle with a controlled substance.
After securing a search warrant for a blood draw, Hignite was transported to IU Health Hospital. After the blood draw, Hignite refused to get up out of the hospital bed to be transported to jail and began to grab onto the railings. She had to be forcibly removed from the bed and was escorted to the ground. She was then transported to Lawrence County Jail. She was then charged with resisting arrest.
According to court records on January 12, 2022, the state filed to introduce Hignite’s laboratory report.
On Jan. 10, 2022, the state filed a motion to dismiss all the charges against Hignite and Superior Court II Judge Bob Cline granted that motion.
The state had no choice but to dismiss the charges, according to Lawrence County Prosecutor Sam Arp.
“According to Indiana State law, all probable cause for an OWI arrest has to be developed inside a three-hour window,” said Arp. “Unfortunately, the time from the observation of the crime to the blood draw was in excess of those three hours so I had no choice due to the state law but to dismiss the charges.
