A vehicle that appeared to be trying to avoid the attention of a state police trooper got his attention anyway and he initiated a traffic stop.

All three occupants did not have valid driver’s licenses. The driver got a summons then all three were free to go from the scene. But drugs were found after the vehicle was towed and a warrant has been issued for the arrest of a passenger.

Stephanie Jo Hawkins, 33, is from Jasonville according to court records, but during the traffic stop, she told the trooper her home was in Worthington.

A warrant for her arrest has been out since last Monday, September 24.

The traffic stop occurred back on Tuesday, September 4.

Indiana State Police Trooper Richard Klun was on duty in uniform driving an unmarked patrol car with K9 Loki riding along.

Trooper Klun was eastbound on State Road 45 approaching Warren Road in rural Bloomfield when the vehicle in front of him slowed down suddenly and turned it’s turn signal on. As he passed, he checked the license plate number. A records check showed the vehicle was registered to a person whose driver’s license was suspended.

Then after he passed the vehicle, he noticed it did not turn after all but continued eastbound on the highway behind him. So he pulled off onto the right shoulder near Corwin Road. As the vehicle approached, it suddenly slowed down again then turned onto Corwin Road. Klun noticed the driver matched the description of the registered owner.

When Klun initiated a traffic stop. the driver said she thought her license was valid. The trooper said it was not. She got a summons to appear in court for driving while suspended with a prior.

Both the front seat passenger and a back seat passenger had state ID cards but no licenses. A records check revealed the front seat passenger has two cases pending, one for possession of methamphetamine and one for dealing methamphetamine, and the back seat passenger has one case pending for possession of methamphetamine.

The trooper remembered the back seat passenger, Stephanie Hawkins, from a prior arrest. He remembered the methamphetamine during that incident had been found in a lockbox under her seat.

All three occupants were asked to exit the vehicle and since the vehicle was being impounded, they were free to go – they called for a ride.

When Klun asked if there were any drugs in the vehicle, the driver allegedly said there shouldn’t be and she gave consent for Klun to deploy Loki around the vehicle for a free air sniff. He did, and Loki alerted to the presence of contraband.

Klun reported nothing was found immediately but in the backseat near other items that belonged to Hawkins, was a lockbox. She allegedly said she had a key to it but left it at her home in Worthington.

The lockbox was seized and when later opened, Klun reported it contained numerous smoking devices, pills identified as legend drugs and a syringe. One of the smoking devices field tested positive for methamphetamine.

The preliminary charges pending against Hawkins include four felonies: Possession of methamphetamine – a Level 6 felony, unlawful possession of a syringe – a Level 6 felony, and two counts of unlawful possession of a legend drug – both are Level 6 felonies.