Police arrested a North Dakota woman for stealing a car, originally a loaner, from an auto dealership after an officer noticed an illegible license plate, according to court records.

The officer stopped the Ford Taurus at 12th and Durbin streets on Wednesday, approached it, and saw a fidgety Jennifer Cobb in the driver's seat, a small plastic bag of marijuana and a pipe between the driver's seat and console, an adult male in the passenger seat, and a child in the back seat, according to an affidavit filed with Natrona County Circuit Court.

After a call to dispatch, the officer learned the car was reported stolen from a Budget Auto outlet in Jamestown, N.D. He waited for other officers to arrived, and asked Cobb about the stolen car allegation.

She told him to call the owner of Budget Auto, who would clear up the confusion.

The officer did, and the owner told him the car was on loan while Cobb's minivan was in the shop for service beginning Sept. 8. The owner expected Cobb to return the Taurus for the minivan when the service was done on Sept. 13.

Two days later, Cobb hadn't returned the Taurus, so the owner went to her apartment and saw she had moved out. The owner unsuccessfully tried to contact her and then reported the car stolen, according to the affidavit.

Meanwhile, police interviewed the adult male passenger, who initially identified himself as David Preston but later admitted it was Jason Edwards. Edwards said he lied because he  didn't want the child's mother to find him.

Edwards told police he and Cobb had been evicted from their apartment in Jamestown and were traveling to Denver to live there. They had no family ties in Casper.

Police put the 4-year-old child in protective custody. A search by the police department's K9, "Bear," revealed no other contraband in the car.

Cobb and Edwards were booked into the county jail Thursday.

Thursday, Cobb made her initial appearance in Natrona County Circuit Court and pleaded not guilty to one misdemeanor count of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and one misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance. Her bond was set at $2,000.

More From K2 Radio