A traffic stop in Knox on Tuesday morning resulted in the arrest of three Knox residents for allegedly dealing heroin.
Knox City Police officers performed the stop at the Marathon gas station at Lake Street and U.S. 35. Police say during the traffic stop they witnessed James R. Landrum, Jr., 29, attempt to hide items underneath the back seat as he was exiting the vehicle.
The K9 unit from the Starke County Sheriff’s Department was deployed and the K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle, according to the press release. A search reportedly found a total of 56 individual bags of heroin. The street value is estimated at $1,120. Cash and drug paraphernalia were also retrieved, police say.
Two children inside the car were placed into the care of the Indiana Department of Child Protective Services while Landrum, 25-year-old Ryan Phelps and 20-year-old Cassie Singleton were all booked into the Starke County Jail. Their preliminary criminal charges include dealing a narcotic drug and possession of a narcotic drug. Singleton has two additional charges of neglect of a dependent while Landrum’s additional charge includes resisting law enforcement.
The Knox City Police Department was assisted at the scene by the Starke County Sheriff’s Department, Indiana Department of Child Services and the Hamlet Police Department.
Photo provided by the Knox City Police Department.
