An Ohio man was arrested, after a LaPorte County traffic stop reportedly turned up a firearm and a large amount of cash. Sheriff’s deputies say it happened Sunday morning on the Indiana Toll Road. Police say they pulled over a westbound passenger vehicle after it followed another vehicle too closely and committed a traffic infraction while changing lanes.
While speaking to the driver and passenger, the deputy says he noticed a firearm inside the vehicle. A K-9 was brought in to assist and reportedly gave a positive alert during a free air sniff. Officers say a search of the vehicle turned up “a large amount of currency in various denominations.”
Drug Enforcement Administration agents were called to the scene and seized the money. The passenger, Johnnie I. Evans, 30, of Cleveland, Ohio, was arrested on suspicion of the Level 4 felony of possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. The driver, Brianna N. Sparks, was reportedly given several warnings for the alleged traffic violations and released from the scene.
The sheriff’s deputy who made the traffic stop was working the Domestic Highway Enforcement program, an effort aimed at disrupting the flow of drugs and weapons. It’s one of the programs put in place as part of LaPorte County’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area designation.
