LAWRENCE CO. – Police investigating a vehicle stuck in the ditch on Thursday, March 13, ended with the driver Vernon J. Chastain, 63, of Heltonville, arrested after police found drugs.
At approximately 7:37 p.m., Indiana State Police Trooper Ben Burris responded to a report of a vehicle off the roadway on Dunn Bridge Road near the intersection of Gil Gal Road. Upon arrival, Trooper Burris and Deputy Thomas Porter found a black 2001 Toyota Corolla stuck in a ditch.
Deputy Porter made contact with the driver, Chastain, who admitted to smoking cannabis earlier in the day. Trooper Burris began field sobriety tests with Chastain, but Chastain was unable to complete the walk-and-turn test for medical reasons.
Trooper Burris, a certified user of the Sotoxa oral fluid analyzer, administered the test to Chastain, which yielded positive results for cannabis and methamphetamine. After being read implied consent, Chastain agreed to a blood draw and was handcuffed.
Deputy Thomas Porter conducted an inventory of the vehicle and located two bags of THC gummies, a glass smoking device, and two papers folded up with a crystal substance. The crystal substance later field-tested positive for methamphetamine.
In a post-Miranda interview, Chastain admitted that all items located in the vehicle belonged to him and that the crystal substance was meth.
Chastain was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital, where a blood sample at approximately 10:15 p.m. Those results are pending.
Chastain was transported to the Lawrence County Security Center and remanded to jail staff on charges of possession of meth, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and operating a vehicle with a controlled substance in his blood.
Those facing criminal charges are considered innocent unless convicted through due legal proceedings. Accusations alone do not imply guilt; the judicial system will evaluate the presented evidence to reach a verdict.
