LAWRENCE CO. – A 64-year-old Williams woman, Carolyn M. Schutte, was arrested on Monday, April 22, on felony charges of possession of methamphetamine and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia following a report of a suspicious person.
According to a Probable Cause Affidavit filed by Lawrence County Police Sergeant Robin Compton Jr., Central Dispatch received a call at approximately 3:09 p.m. regarding a middle-aged female who had pulled her burgundy sedan off State Road 158 near Craig Mill Road and was allegedly stumbling in the roadway. The caller reported that the female then re-entered her vehicle and sat down with the door open.
Sergeant Compton responded to the area and was advised that the vehicle was now parked on Craig Mill Road. Upon arrival, Sergeant Compton located a burgundy/reddish Pontiac vehicle parked in the southbound lane of Craig Mill Road. The car was not running and was registered to Schutte.
Sergeant Compton approached the vehicle on the passenger side and made contact with an older female in the driver’s seat, who identified herself as Carolyn Schutte. The affidavit noted that the vehicle was cluttered with various items.
During the conversation, Sergeant Compton noticed that Schutte was very fidgety and had trouble staying still. When asked about the reason for the contact, Schutte stated her vehicle had run out of gas. She denied consuming any alcoholic beverages and, when asked if she had anything illegal in the car, denied possessing marijuana, methamphetamine, or heroin.
Schutte reportedly consented to a search of her vehicle. While searching a bag, Sergeant Compton located a smaller zipped bag containing a sock, Q-tips, and a metal scraping tool. Inside the sock, a glass smoking device with meth powdery residue was found. The same zipped bag also contained a smaller zipped side pocket with two small ziploc baggies inside – one containing a crystal-like meth and the other containing residue of a similar substance. An additional sock containing a second glass smoking device was also located in the bags.
Schutte was placed under arrest and transported to IU Bedford Hospital for medical clearance before being taken to the Lawrence County Security Center on a charge of possession of meth, a Level 6 felony and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor.
All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. This article is based on the information provided in the Probable Cause Affidavit and does not represent a final determination of guilt or innocence.
