CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A traffic stop on East Main Street ended with a Chillicothe man in the Ross County Jail on a felony indictment warrant and suspected methamphetamine seized from his vehicle on Sunday, November 1, according to a Chillicothe police report reported by the Scioto Post.
Officers on patrol in the 700 block of East Main Street pulled in behind a tan Buick and ran its plate through LEADS, which showed the vehicle was registered to Brian Lehman, who had an active felony warrant issued by the Ross County Sheriff’s Office, the police report said, according to the Scioto Post.
Officer Lance Canterbury stopped the vehicle just west of Wade Street, and the driver identified himself as Lehman, with an identification card matching the name and birthdate on the warrant, according to the report. Dispatch and the Ross County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the active felony indictment warrant — Case No. 26S100-04-07 — for possession of drugs, and Lehman was detained in handcuffs, the Scioto Post reported.
During the stop, Lehman told officers there was marijuana inside the vehicle, according to the report. Asked about a white powder residue officers saw on a cell phone on the driver’s side floorboard, he acknowledged it was narcotics, possibly methamphetamine, and directed officers to a cup holder near the center console where he said additional drugs belonging to an acquaintance might be, the report said.
A search of the vehicle turned up a black tube with white powder residue on the passenger-side floorboard and, inside the cup holder, two folded aluminum foil packets containing an opaque crystalline substance suspected to be methamphetamine, according to the police report.
The suspected narcotics were confiscated and will be sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for confirmatory testing before any additional charges are filed, the Scioto Post reported.
Lehman was transported without incident to the Ross County Jail, where he was formally served with his indictment paperwork and notice of disability, according to the report. The charges in an indictment are allegations, and Lehman is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
What happens next rests with the lab and the court: the suspected substances must be confirmed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation before prosecutors decide on any additional charges beyond the indictment Lehman was served with at the jail, and his case will proceed through the Ross County court system. No injuries were reported in connection with the stop.