Delilah Rose Spriggs

KOSCIUSKO — A Fort Wayne female is facing charges after being pulled over by a law enforcement officer who observed her driving at speeds of up to 90 mph. 

Delilah Rose Spriggs, 31, 2319 Nuthatch Lane, Fort Wayne, is being charged with carrying a handgun without a license, a class A misdemeanor; possession of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor; and reckless driving, a class C misdemeanor.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, on April 15, an officer with the Warsaw Police Department was northbound on Lake City Highway in a fully marked patrol vehicle. The officer said he observed a vehicle coming up behind him at a high rate of speed. The officer activated the patrol vehicle’s radar unit and found the vehicle’s speed to be 90 mph in the 55 mph zone. The vehicle, a gray 2018 Ford Escape with a Virginia license plate, passed the officer’s vehicle and then moved over to the right lane, in front of the officer’s vehicle. At that time, the officer activated the patrol vehicle’s red and blue flashing emergency lights. 

The Ford Escape moved over into the exit lane for Detroit Street and began slowing down on the shoulder of the exit ramp. The officer stated that while the vehicle was slowing down to come to a stop, it was swerving from side to side.

As the officer approached the vehicle and spoke with the driver, later identified as Spriggs, he stated he could immediately smell the odor of raw marijuana coming from the vehicle and called for another officer to come to the scene with a K-9. 

The officer asked Spriggs when she had last smoked marijuana and she allegedly replied that she had smoked the day before, at her grandmother’s funeral. The officer then asked Spriggs if she had any marijuana or smoking devices in the vehicle, and she began looking around. Picking up a package of a reddish liquid, she stated, “I have some hot sauce.”

The officer asked Spriggs to tell him where the pipe or marijuana was but not to attempt to get it; however, Spriggs continued to move things around and look through compartments. Spriggs was then instructed to exit the vehicle and she complied. 

When asked if she had weapons or anything illegal on her person, Spriggs stated, “Not on me.” The officer then asked Spriggs if she had any weapons in the vehicle, and she reportedly hesitated before saying that she did not. While patting Spriggs down, the officer discovered a small, tied-off corner of a plastic bag containing a greenish-brown plant-like material.

The other officer and his K-9 partner arrived at the scene, and the K-9 made a positive alert for the presence of drugs in the vehicle. Upon searching the vehicle, police found a black box. Inside the box was an FIE E28 .25 caliber handgun and a magazine loaded with five rounds of ammunition. In the center console, police located a marijuana cigarette.

Spriggs was booked at the Kosciusko County Jail April 15 on a $600 cash bond.