BEDFORD — A routine traffic stop for a failed turn signal ended in a narcotics arrest Friday evening after a Lawrence County police K-9 sniffed out methamphetamine residue inside a vehicle sporting the wrong license plates.
Megan Kern, 48, of Bedford, was arrested on June 19, 2026, by the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department. Following the roadside investigation, she faces preliminary charges of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 6 felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor.
According to the probable cause affidavit filed by Deputy Augustus Hogan, the incident began at approximately 5:20 p.m. while the deputy was monitoring traffic at the intersection of State Road 158 and State Road 450.
Deputy Hogan observed a red Kia sedan traveling north on State Road 450. As the vehicle stopped to make a right-hand turn onto State Road 158, the driver failed to use a turn signal. Deputy Hogan began following the sedan and observed it commit a second lane violation at the intersection of State Road 37 and 16th Street, stopping completely over the white boundary line separating the straight and right-turn lanes.
The deputy initiated a traffic stop, and the Kia pulled into the shared parking lot of the Wendy’s and Long John Silver’s restaurants.
As Deputy Hogan approached the driver’s side, he noticed the driver, later identified as Kern, positioning her body in an odd, defensive posture by turning completely sideways in her seat to face away from the center console. The deputy also noted she was not wearing a seatbelt. When asked for her license and registration, Kern’s hands were visibly shaking and trembling. She claimed she didn’t know where the documents were because she was in the process of moving her late mother’s belongings.
Before being asked to identify herself, Kern spontaneously told the deputy, “I’m not Shane, I’m Megan,” eventually providing her full name and date of birth. Because of her highly hesitant and nervous behavior, Deputy Hogan opened the driver’s door and ordered her out of the vehicle multiple times before she complied.
Assisting on the scene was Deputy Kenton Carter and his dual-purpose K-9 partner, Boon. Once Kern stepped out to speak with Deputy Hogan at the front of the patrol car, Deputy Carter walked K-9 Boon around the exterior of the Kia for a free-air sniff. The police dog gave a positive alert for narcotics on the passenger side of the vehicle.
During a subsequent probable cause search of the interior, Deputy Carter discovered a plastic straw coated with a white powdery residue. Utilizing a field test kit, the residue tested positive for methamphetamine.
Kern was placed in handcuffs, read her Miranda rights, and secured in the back of a patrol vehicle for transport to the Lawrence County Jail.
While completing paperwork in his cruiser, Deputy Hogan discovered a final twist: the Indiana license plate on the car did not belong to the red Kia. Deputy Captain Anthony Pope, who arrived on scene to assist with the vehicle inventory, ran the car’s Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to determine its actual registration status.
The vehicle was ultimately impounded, and Kern was booked into the county security center without further incident.
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.
