BEDFORD– A routine traffic stop on Monday evening led to the arrest of a Heltonville woman on a charge of possession of methamphetamine.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Bedford Police Officer Michael Bell, Jaiden M. Curren, 24, was taken into custody after a vehicle search yielded the suspected illegal substance.
The incident unfolded at approximately 6:39 p.m. on Monday, April 7, when Officer Bell was on patrol near 28th Street and Mitchell Road. He noticed a vehicle parked at a Citgo gas station with an Indiana license plate registered to a silver 1999 Mercury Mystique. The vehicle was owned by a male with a suspended driver’s license. Two females exited the car and quickly entered the station, while the male driver remained in the car.
The vehicle subsequently left the gas station and traveled west on 28th Street, passing Officer Bell’s patrol car. After confirming the driver, Officer Bell initiated a traffic stop at the 28th Street and Washington Avenue intersection.
Upon approaching the vehicle, Officer Bell recognized the front passenger as Jaiden Curren. He knew Curren had an active arrest warrant out of Lawrence County for a probation violation. After confirming the warrant with dispatch, Officer Bell asked Curren to exit the vehicle.
Before exiting, Curren allegedly handed her belongings, including a green backpack, to the female passenger in the back seat. She placed the backpack in the back seat. Curren was then taken into custody by another officer.
Officer Bell requested consent to search the vehicle from the driver, but this was denied. Officer Bell then deployed his K9 partner, Castiel, for a free-air sniff of the vehicle. Castiel reportedly alerted him to the odor of narcotics at the back passenger door.
Based on the K9 alert, a probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted. Inside the green backpack that Curren had handed to the female passenger officers allegedly discovered a clear plastic bag containing a crystal meth.
Curren was transported to the Lawrence County Jail on the warrant and a new change of possession of meth. Spreen was cited into Lawrence County Superior Court II for driving with a suspended license. The vehicle was released to the female passenger, who was a valid driver.
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.
