Woman arrested on felony drug charges, DWI, child endangerment after traffic stop
A local woman was arrested on felony drug charges and misdemeanor counts of driving while intoxicated, drugs, and child endangerment following a traffic stop where her 2-year-old son was in the car late Tuesday.
Victoria Susan Shepherd, 36, who lists a Patterson Street address, was taken into custody around 9:45 p.m. and charged with felony counts of possession of a controlled substance, meth, and possession of drug paraphernalia, and misdemeanor counts of DWI-drugs, third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and driving on a suspended driver’s license.
Shepherd, who also had warrants for failure to appear, was being held on bonds totaling $10,250 and was set to appear Thursday in Garland County District Court.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Garland County Sheriff’s Deputy Alex Hollaway was traveling south on Mountain Pine Road when he saw a blue Chevrolet Cavalier and upon running a computer check on the license determined the owner of the car had a suspended driver’s license, so he stopped the car at Mountain Pine and Clear Creek roads.
He made contact with the driver, identified as Shepherd, who he noted was “speaking rapidly, drenched in sweat, and making very erratic movements.” When asked, she was unable to provide any documents and a check of her name revealed the warrants for her arrest, so Hollaway asked her to get out of the car.
The deputy reportedly noted Shepherd was unsteady on her feet and then she allegedly admitted there was meth, approximately 0.38 gram, and two glass pipes in the vehicle which were located and seized.
Shepherd submitted to several field sobriety tests and while the first one didn’t indicate any clues, the next four tests reportedly indicated she was under the influence of drugs.
“Based on my observations during initial contact, my observations during standardized field sobriety tests as well as advised sobriety tests and my training as a drug recognition expert,” Shepherd was taken into custody for DWI-drugs, Hollaway stated.
The deputy noted that Shepherd’s 2-year-old son was asleep in a car seat throughout the traffic stop and was released to his father. Once at the detention center, Shepherd submitted to a breath test which registered 0.0 blood-alcohol, but she also submitted a urine sample for further testing for drugs.
A DRE evaluation was completed at the jail and it was determined Shepherd was under the influence of a CNS stimulant and “unable to operate a vehicle safely.”