A report of a possibly impaired driver at a Huntingburg convenience store Wednesday morning resulted in the arrest of a Jasper man on charges of OWI and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Around a quarter till 8 am yesterday officers with the Huntingburg Police Department were called to Huck’s along the 600 block of Main Street where police were told that a man, possibly impaired was at the gas pumps.
Police say the caller reported a male was sitting in a vehicle and appeared to be falling asleep or perhaps passed out behind the wheel.
When police arrived at the store, they discovered 31-year old Justin Reed of Jasper asleep in the driver’s seat of a running car. One officer noticed the vehicle was in reverse with Reed’s foot holding the brake pedal.
Seeing that Reed’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, officers asked Reed to step out of the vehicle and noticed he was shaking and twitching and appeared to be under the influence of a controlled substance.
Police say standardized field sobriety tests were conducted all of which Reed reportedly failed.
A K-9 Unit was called to the scene to conduct an open air sniff of Reed’s car and immediately indicated the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle.
Police say a subsequent search found items indicating recent drug use. Also a glass smoking pipe with burnt residue commonly used for smoking methamphetamine was later located in Reed’s pocket.
He was taken to Memorial Hospital in Jasper for a chemical test and then to the Dubois County Security Center where he was booked for Operating While Intoxicated and Possession of Paraphernalia.
Huntingburg Police were assisted at the scene by the Dubois County Sheriff’s Department.
