After a Jasonville woman intending to get a motel room in Linton was pulled over for a traffic stop, a K9 alerted to the presence of a controlled substance in the vehicle.

Nikki Jo Sullivan, 23, Jasonville, was arrested by Officer John Agan of the Linton Police Department on Thursday, December 12.

Around 8 p.m. that night, Officer Agan noticed a silver Ford Contour northbound on 2nd Street NE near B Street NE in Linton. The vehicle had a license plate that belonged to a maroon Mercury Mountaineer. He initiated a traffic stop.

Sullivan was the driver with a male passenger on board. While Officer Agan was conducting the stop, LPD Officer Joe Riley arrived to assist and his K9 partner Kona conducted a free air sniff around Sullivan’s vehicle. K9 Kona alerted to the odor of a controlled substance.

Officer Agan reported that during a search, Officer Riley located a green handbag behind the driver’s seat with two syringes and a baggie containing a white crystal-like substance that field-tested positive as methamphetamine.

Sullivan allegedly confirmed the bag was hers but said she had not had it in her possession for a long time having just picked it up at a friend’s house. She denied knowing the syringes were still in it.

During an interview with the passenger, he allegedly said he had just purchased the vehicle. He provided the officer with a hand-written bill of sale. He said he did not have a valid driver’s license so Sullivan was driving and they were transporting several of Sullivan’s bags, clothing and personal items as she planned to get a motel room that night. He denied knowing of any syringes or methamphetamine.

Sullivan was booked into the Greene County Jail around 10 p.m. that night.

When she appeared in Greene Superior Court this morning for an initial hearing, she was charged with possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and unlawful possession of a syringe, a Level 6 felony. A public defender was appointed to represent her and her bond was set at $8,000 surety with ten percent cash allowed.