The LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office made four arrests in two days on the Indiana Toll Road, as part of the Domestic Highway Enforcement program. On Friday afternoon, deputies say they pulled over a westbound passenger vehicle, after it followed a semi too closely and failed to signal a lane change.
Officers later searched the vehicle and reportedly found a loaded 9mm pistol. The driver, Emanuel E. Moore, 53, of Euclid, Ohio, was charged with the Level 5 felony of carrying a handgun without a license with a prior conviction.
Then in the same area on Saturday, deputies say they stopped another westbound vehicle for speeding and committing a traffic infraction while changing lanes. A search reportedly turned up nearly two dozen prescription bottles containing a schedule V controlled substance.
Police arrested the driver, Gerson S. Castro, 26, of Queens, New York, as well as the two passengers, Justin Liriano, 25, and Edwin Ortiz, 24, both of Brooklyn, New York. They’re all charged with a single Level 4 felony count of dealing a schedule V controlled substance.
The Domestic Highway Enforcement program is 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.
