Noisy Muffler Leads To Discovery Of Drugs, Handgun
WARSAW — A Warsaw man is facing charges after a traffic stop led to the discovery of drugs.
Timothy Leigh Bowen, Jr., 28, 2441 West CR 250S, No. 87, Warsaw, is being charged with possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a level 4 felony; possession of methamphetamine with enhancement, a level 5 felony; and possession of a narcotic drug with enhancement, a level 5 felony.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on Sept. 27, an officer with the Warsaw Police Department observed a tan Buick with a loud muffler on Lake Street in Warsaw. The officer conducted a traffic stop and identified the female driver. The front seat passenger was identified as Bowen, who was wearing sunglasses and a hoodie and would not make eye contact with the officer.
The officer used his K-9 partner to perform an outer air search of the vehicle. The K-9 made a positive alert. Upon searching the vehicle, police found a red plastic bag in the seat where Bowen was sitting. The bag contained a white powdery substance that field-tested positive for heroin. Also in the area where Bowen was sitting, officers found a cigarette pack that held five clear plastic bags with a crystal-like residue that field-tested positive for methamphetamine. Under the passenger seat, officers found a black .45 caliber handgun with eight cartridges in the magazine and none in the chamber.
Officers arrested Bowen. Upon searching his person, they located two plastic bags containing a powder substance, one plastic bag containing a crystal-like substance and a .45 caliber cartridge of the same make that was loaded in the magazine. The two plastic bags containing a powder substance field-tested positive for heroin and weighed .9 grams. The plastic bags containing the crystal substance field-tested positive for methamphetamine and weighed .5 grams.
Bowen told officers that the handgun belongs to a friend. Bowen was booked at the Kosciusko County Jail on Sept. 27 on a $50,250 surety and cash bond.