A routine traffic stop in Chillicothe resulted in the arrest of two women on drug-related charges Sunday evening, with one of the suspects also being held on an outstanding felony warrant.
According to the Chillicothe Police Department, Officer Jonathan Davis observed a blue Hyundai fail to stop at a stop sign at the intersection of North Watt Street and East Water Street around 8:02 p.m. on July 19. After initiating a traffic stop, officers identified the driver as Heather Dawn Garrett, 37, and the passenger as Nicole Marie Manuel, 36.
Garrett told officers she did not have a driver’s license. During the encounter, she consented to a search and was seen attempting to conceal a glass pipe commonly used to smoke narcotics. Officers recovered the pipe and placed her in handcuffs.
Manuel also consented to a search. Officers reported finding a blue silicone container with white residue, a burnt chore boy, an unused filter, a small orange object commonly associated with narcotics, and another glass pipe. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, officers located an additional pipe in the center console, along with a backpack containing what officers described as a “rig” commonly used for injecting narcotics and a bag of white powder. Manuel initially told officers the substance was sugar before later stating it was “cut,” a substance commonly mixed with narcotics, according to the report.
Both women were arrested and transported to the Ross County Jail, where they were booked on misdemeanor drug paraphernalia charges.
Garrett was also held on an outstanding felony warrant out of Delaware County for possession of cocaine, according to police.
The suspected narcotics were collected as evidence and will be submitted to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) for laboratory testing. Additional drug possession charges remain possible pending those results.
As with all criminal cases, the charges are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
