BUCKHANNON – A Buckhannon woman who allegedly gave a false name when police found her to be in possession of three illegal controlled substances Sunday night was arrested on obstruction and drug-related charges.
Bobbie Jane Miller, 39, was arrested for obstructing an officer; possession of a controlled substance, heroin; possession of a controlled substance, methamphetamine; and possession of a controlled substance, Gabapentin, all misdemeanors.
According to criminal complaints filed in the Upshur County Magistrate Clerk’s office by investigating officers Deputy Tyler Gordon and Deputy Joseph Barcus with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department, the charges stem from a traffic stop late Sunday night.
The file states that at 11:19 p.m. on Sunday, June 2, Barcus initiated a traffic stop on a blue Nissan Versa traveling on U.S. Route 33 West near the downtown Buckhannon exit because of defective equipment.
Once the vehicle pulled over, Barcus allegedly smelled marijuana emanating from inside the vehicle, which contained a driver and three passengers.
Barcus’s report says the back right passenger – later discovered to be Miller – “appeared to be either unconscious or asleep for an extended period of time during the traffic stop.”
At that point, Gordon arrived on scene, and he and Barcus ordered the four individuals to exit the vehicle.
Barcus and Gordon woke up the back right passenger, who reportedly “originally identified herself as [another female individual],” Barcus wrote in the report. Miller later told Barcus and Gordon her real name, the report states.
When Miller exited the vehicle, the officers allegedly found several clear plastic bags as well as insulin needles tucked into a purse Miller had been carrying. While Gordon was talking to Miller, he also allegedly discovered a bag of “tan powdery-like substance believed to be heroin” that Miller had been sitting on, the file states.
In addition, officers found “several Gabapentin and a small baggie containing a small amount of crystal-like substance believed to be methamphetamine,” Gordon’s report says. The file notes Gabapentin, which is used to treat seizures and nerve pain, was recently classified as a Schedule V controlled substance in West Virginia.
Schedule V substances are ones that can only legally be prescribed by a doctor for a medicinal purpose, according to the state’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act.
Barcus placed Miller in handcuffs and walked her over to Gordon’s cruiser, which is when she revealed her real name and admitted she had “provided [Barcus] with a false name,” according to the report.
Magistrate Kay Hurst set bail at $10,000 cash or surety – $2,500 per charge.
The penalty for a conviction of obstructing an officer is confinement in jail for up to one year, a fine between $50 and $500 or both.
The penalty for a conviction of possession of a controlled substance is imprisonment for a term of 90 days to six months, a fine of up to $1,000 or both.