CHINA GROVE — A 50-year-old woman told deputies she “didn’t know what they were doing” when she abruptly turned just before a traffic checkpoint on N.C. 152 West Wednesday night, an arrest report said.
The excuse may have worked if deputies hadn’t found oxycodone and a crack cocaine pipe and if the woman had had a valid driver’s license, according to the report.
Vicki Rattler, of Highway 152 West, approached the checkpoint slowly in a gray Toyota Camry, according to a Rowan County Sheriff’s Office report, but then quickly turned onto Ketchie Street.
Officers jumped in their patrol cars and caught up with the woman.
One officer asked Rattler why she didn’t follow instructions, since he was waving her forward.
She replied that she “didn’t know what they were doing,” the report said.
Authorities immediately cited the woman for driving with a revoked license and noted in the report that her speech was slurred.
She also appeared unsteady on her feet, officers said, and failed a field sobriety test.
Inside the Camry, deputies said they found a metal pipe with a rubber tip on one end. On the other end, it was capped with steel wool.
The woman told officers “she had forgot about the crack pipe but it had been there a long time since she used it,” the report said.
Deputies also found prescription pills, including oxycodone.
She was taken to Rowan Regional Medical Center and a blood sample was taken.
Rattler was then charged with driving while impaired, driving while license revoked, possession of drug paraphernalia and misdemeanor possession of oxycodone.
She was released after posting a $1,000 bond.