Four likely warnings end up in arrests
Staff writer
Four routine traffic stops — the type that often result only in warnings — ended in four separate arrests within 28 hours this weekend for Hillsboro officer John Huebert.
Going four for four on routine stops is quite unusual, assistant chief Randy Brazil said Monday.
“Nine times out of 10, it’s nothing,” he said. “But that 10th time . . . .”
Huebert came up with a 10th time four times in a row late Friday through early Sunday.
Stopping a vehicle at 10:27 p.m. Friday near Adams and D Sts. for having a defective mirror and a defective license plate light, Huebert discovered that driver Ryan E. Williams, 41, Marion, was suspected of having failed to register as an offender in Nebraska, where he formerly resided.
There, he was convicted of third-degree sexual assault in Lancaster County on Aug. 23, 2021, and was ordered to register his address for 15 years. His last registered address was verified March 7, 2024, in Lincoln, county seat of Lancaster County.
Williams was taken to Marion County Jail, where he was released Monday after posting a $10,000 bond.
Two and a half hours later, at 1:04 a.m. Saturday, Huebert stopped a vehicle near 3rd and Ash Sts. for improper use of turn signals and having a defective license plate light.
He noticed two open containers of alcohol in the vehicle and prepared to ticket the driver, Scott A. Fisher, 64, Hillsboro.
However, Fisher refused to sign the notice to appear that Huebert had prepared. As a result, he was taken to county jail on suspicion of transporting an open container and failing to display evidence of vehicle liability insurance.
Fisher was released Monday on his own recognizance.
The next night, at 9:18 p.m. Saturday, Huebert stopped a vehicle in the 100 block of N. Madison St. for failing to signal a turn.
Checking for outstanding warrants, he discovered that the driver, Sara J. Lanham, 30, Newton, was wanted on a misdemeanor theft charge and three felony charges of unlawful computer acts filed in May about incidents in which she allegedly took money from an online account of a former boyfriend in Hillsboro.
In taking her into custody, Huebert reported finding five syringes, and a trace amount of methamphetamine in her car.
She was taken to Marion County Jail, where an additional suspected charge of trafficking in contraband at a correctional facility was added.
According to Brazil, a smoking pipe fell out of Lanham’s bra while she was being searched by a female correctional officer.
“We try to warn them before they go to jail that if they have anything hidden, they should give it up before they get there,” Brazil said.
Similar drug and contraband charges were sought against her after her initial arrest in the theft and computer crimes case.
Lanhan was being held in lieu of posting a $10,000 bond.
Later that night, at 2:29 a.m. Sunday, Huebert stopped a vehicle for speeding in the 900 block of E. D St.
He smelled an alcoholic beverage and obtained a warrant to draw blood to test for intoxication.
A gram of THC resin, a concentrated form of the active ingredient in marijuana, and a vape pen were discovered in detaining the driver.
Chad P. Ingels, 41, Oklahoma City, was arrested on suspicion of possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia and, pending results of the blood test, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
He was released 6½ hours later after posting a $2,500 bond.