Published: June 24, 2009 10:10 pm         

Two jailed on drug charges after traffic stop

Two Illinois residents are in the Sullivan County Jail on charges of dealing and possessing marijuana after eight pounds of the substance allegedly was discovered Wednesday by law enforcement agents during a speeding stop.

According to an Indiana State Police news release, Indiana State Police Trooper B.J. Patterson and Sullivan County Sheriff’s Deputy Brad Miller clocked a 2009 Nissan rental car southbound on U.S. 41, just south of Indiana 154, at 71 mph in a 55 mph zone.

The officers approached the vehicle and noticed the female driver and male passenger appeared to be more nervous than the usual occupants of a traffic stop, the release said. Miller then walked his drug detection dog around the car and the dog “alerted” to the right rear trunk area. Officers then opened the trunk and located a large bag with eight smaller bags of suspected marijuana inside.

According to the ISP report, the male passenger was uncooperative and allegedly provided false identification information to the officers. Further investigation found the male was wanted on a Knox County warrant for failure to appear (traffic), a misdemeanor. The marijuana was seized and the vehicle was impounded by Morrison’s Towing of Sullivan, said the news release.

The driver, Amanda L. Hardiman, 27, of Carbondale, Ill., was arrested for one count of dealing in marijuana and one count of possession of marijuana, both class-D felonies. She is being held in the Sullivan County Jail on $25,000 bail.

The passenger, Darius A. London, 35, of East Chicago, Ill., was arrested for one count of dealing in marijuana and one count of possession of marijuana, both class-D felonies, and one count of false informing, a class-A misdemeanor. He is being held in the Sullivan County Jail on $35,000 bail. London also will be held on the Knox County warrant.

A person convicted of a class-D felony can be imprisoned up to three years and fined a maximum of $10,000.

A person convicted of a class-A misdemeanor can be imprisoned up to one year and fined a maximum of $5,000.