Casper Police Notice Cracked Windshield, Arrest Woman for Meth Possession
An investigation prompted by a cracked windshield led Casper police officers to arrest a woman on Monday after discovering a syringe and meth pipe in the woman's pants.
Anna Rachel Hodson, 27, was booked into jail on a charge of methamphetamine possession.
Charging papers say a pair of officers were westbound on Second Street approaching Beverly Street at about 2:15 p.m. when one officer saw a man standing in the street outside a parked vehicle. The man got into the vehicle and turned into the Ace Hardware parking lot.
The officers drive around the block and pulled into the parking lot, where they saw the man drive off with a "severely" cracked windshield. They tried to catch up to the vehicle, which was headed northbound on University Court, to initiate a traffic stop.
The vehicle then turned west on East First Street, and quickly turned onto Beverly Street. Officers activated their overhead lights, but the vehicle continued driving for an "unusual" amount of time, court documents say.
The vehicle continued slowly for several blocks before finally turning east into an alley near Lark Street, and stopping. As officers approached the vehicle, the driver began yelling that someone had thrown a crowbar at his windshield.
Police spoke with the driver, who may have had injuries on his face consistent with being in a fight. He told officers he was picking up Hodson, who was also in the vehicle, when a man driving a red car threw a crowbar at his vehicle. He didn't know who the man was, or why he threw the crowbar.
Hodson, officers noticed, was reportedly acting strangely and seemed to be withholding information. An officer believed Hodson to be acting as though she was high on meth.
Hodson was reportedly sitting on her purse, continually touching and adjusting her shorts because, she told officers, she had a "wedgie."
She told police her ex-boyfriend, Anthony, was the man who threw the crowbar. Hodson reportedly said she had slept with Anthony the previous night, but told officers she did not know his last name.
Hodson also said she didn't have her identification, as she had left it in Anthony's car after buying cigarettes earlier that day. She could not describe Anthony's vehicle other than saying it was a red car.
An officer told Hodson it was strange that she didn't know Anthony's last name, to which Hodson reportedly implied she did know Anthony's name, but didn't want to be a "snitch." Hodson was talking on the phone as she spoke with police, and officers believed she was speaking to Anthony.
"The police are here because of what you did and this is your fault," Hodson reportedly told Anthony over the phone. She still refused to give Anthony's last name to police.
Hodson did give police Anthony's phone number, but she wouldn't let officers look at her phone to confirm she had given them the correct number. When asked to repeat Anthony's phone number later, Hodson reportedly gave officers a different set of digits.
Officers used a previous arrest photo to confirm Hodson's identity. She was reportedly involved with police recently for possession of controlled substances.
The driver told police he wasn't interested in reporting property damage at that time. He said he'd have his mother, who owned the vehicle, report the damage later. He reportedly said he wanted to leave.
A nearby sergeant responded to the scene to assist officers. He spoke to Hodson, who reportedly had fresh track marks on her arms, and asked her to step away from the vehicle so they could speak away from the driver.
While walking, Hodson's shirt began to ride up past her pants line, and the sergeant noticed the orange cap of a syringe. Hodson began to reach for the syringe, but the sergeant grabbed her arms and told her to stop.
The sergeant then allegedly saw a silver-colored pipe fall out of Hodson's pant leg onto the ground. Hodson was handcuffed and put into the back of a patrol car.
The driver of the vehicle was temporarily placed in handcuffs, but was not placed under arrest. He then told officers there were no other drugs in the vehicle and didn't know Hodson had the drug paraphernalia when he picked her up.
According to the affidavit, the driver also then told police he was willing to cooperate with the property damage investigation. He reportedly said no physical altercation had taken place between himself and Anthony, and said the cut on his lip was just a cold sore.
Hodson still refused to provide Anthony's last name. She said she had been with Anthony just before the property damage occurred, and made arrangements to be picked up so she could get away from him.
She reportedly admitted to lying about Anthony's phone number, which she provided to police, and finally gave his full name. She refused to give any information about how she got the drug paraphernalia.
Hodson, for whom an arrest warrant had been issued that day through probation and parole, was arrested and taken to the Natrona County Detention Center.
The pipe which allegedly fell from Hodson's pants tested negative for THC, so officers logged it into evidence to be examined for "spice," a synthetic form of marijuana.
The syringe, meanwhile, tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine.