BEDFORD — An early morning traffic stop on Independence Day led to the arrest of a Solsberry man after he was clocked speeding through Bedford with an open box of beer on his floorboard, later failing multiple sobriety tests.
Gabriel Keppel, 20, was taken into custody by the Bedford Police Department on Saturday, July 4, 2026. He faces criminal charges of operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI), illegal consumption, and minor in possession of alcohol.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed by Bedford Police Officer Taylor Daugherty, the incident began at approximately 1:14 a.m. Officer Daugherty was running stationary radar near the intersection of Mitchell Road and 25th Street when he observed a 1992 red Chevrolet Blazer traveling northbound at 52 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Officer Daugherty initiated a traffic stop, pulling the vehicle over near 15th and M Streets. Upon approaching the driver’s side window, the officer immediately noticed an open box of Coors Banquet beer sitting on the front floorboard of the vehicle.
When asked about his timeline, Keppel stated he was heading home from a friend’s house. Keppel initially told the officer he had not consumed any alcohol and claimed the beer belonged to a friend. When asked for his age, Keppel stated he was 19, though dispatch records later clarified he had turned 20 approximately three months before.
Detecting a strong odor of alcohol emitting from the vehicle, Officer Daugherty asked Keppel if he would submit to Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, to which Keppel agreed.
The roadside evaluations indicated significant signs of impairment across all three tests.
Keppel then submitted to a preliminary breath test (PBT), which yielded a positive roadside result of 0.123% blood-alcohol concentration.
Following the positive breath test, Keppel was placed in handcuffs. After being read his Miranda warnings and the Indiana Implied Consent law, Keppel altered his initial story, admitting to the officer that he had consumed three beers and had been drinking the Coors Banquet located inside the vehicle. Officer Daugherty noted that the odor of alcohol was clearly noticeable on Keppel’s breath and person.
Keppel was transported to IU Health Bedford Hospital, where a registered nurse performed a certified draw of two vials of whole blood at 1:58 a.m. to preserve chemical evidence.
During a mandatory inventory search of the Chevrolet Blazer before it was removed by Tow Time Towing, officers confirmed the presence of both opened and unopened Coors Banquet beer cans on the floorboard. Photographic evidence of the vehicle’s interior was logged into the police incident folder.
Keppel was subsequently transported to the Lawrence County Jail and remanded to the custody of the Lawrence County Sheriff for housing.
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.
