Traffic stop turns out to be anything but routine

A routine traffic stop led to a big bust and a potentially big break for detectives investigating a series of bank robberies across the state.

Around 4:20 p.m. Wednesday, Columbus police Officer Nicholas Lauer was on patrol on Cleveland Avenue when he noticed a vehicle start to speed up, like it was trying to avoid him, Lauer said.

Lauer, who has been with the police division less than three years, caught up to the car a few blocks away and stopped it on southbound Interstate 71 near the 17th Avenue exit.

When he got to the car, which was determined to be a rental, Lauer said he could smell marijuana and noticed a significant amount of the drug in the lap of a passenger.

Lauer asked for the car’s registration, still under the impression that it would be a routine stop with a citation issued for possession of marijuana.

But when the driver opened the glove compartment, the situation took a “onein-a-million” turn, he said Thursday.

Lauer said a stack of “crisp” and “flat” bills were visible in the glove compartment. There was also a firearm in the car.

“Very rarely do you pull thousands of dollars out of a vehicle,” Lauer said. “I’m still kind of in shock.”

Police said the amount of Lauer money totaled in the “tens of thousands” of dollars.

Robbery detectives later determined the driver and passenger are possible suspects in several bank robberies throughout Ohio, including at least two in Columbus and two in other areas of central Ohio.

Columbus police are notifying other agencies and working to put together charges against the suspects. The male passenger is being held on a weapons charge. The female driver is not currently in police custody, but multiple charges are likely forthcoming.

“You never know what you’re walking up on,” Lauer said. “I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”