A father and son from Austin and a man from Seymour were arrested on drug charges after a traffic stop late Tuesday afternoon in Crothersville, police report.
Dennis M. Allman, 50, his son, Dennis Marshall Allman Jr., 20, and James Edwin Lowe, 33, all face charges of possession of methamphetamine, a Level 5 felony, and possession of paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
At 5:18 p.m., Crothersville Police Department Officer Levi Caudill was on patrol with Reserve Officer Mike Weiler traveling eastbound on County Road 600S when Caudill observed a vehicle coming up behind him quickly. Caudill said he could see the occupants moving around in the vehicle.
Once he reached the barns just east of County Road 700E, Caudill pulled into the parking lot and allowed the vehicle to pass him. He then got behind the vehicle and ran the license plate, and that came back to a 2006 white Chevrolet pickup truck.
The vehicle, however, was a green BMW.
Caudill then initiated a traffic stop on County Road 600S just east of County Road 625E. When he and Weiler spoke to the occupants, they identified the driver as Dennis M. Allman, the passenger as Lowe and the back-seat passenger as Allman’s son.
Caudill said he asked the father if he was aware the license plate returned to a different vehicle, and he said he was and he put the plate that belonged to his truck on the car so he could drive it. The driver also said he just purchased the BMW a couple of days go, but he didn’t have the bill of sale or title with him, Caudill said.
The occupants were asked to exit the car, and Police Chief Matt Browning arrived to assist. Caudill then told the driver since the plate was false and fictitious that the vehicle would be towed.
The elder Allman told police his girlfriend had the title to the vehicle and could send it to his son’s phone. Shortly after, Allman Jr. received a text message with the picture of the title.
After reviewing the title, police determined it was never signed by the purchaser and was only signed from the prior owner of the vehicle when they bought it.
The driver granted police permission to search the vehicle. Weiler located a bag with a white crystal-like substance and a long glass pipe that is commonly used to ingest meth, and he also found a blue pipe commonly used to ingest marijuana in the trunk.
Once the three men were placed under arrest, the substance was tested and had a presumptive positive of meth and weighed 7.7 grams, police said.
Police asked the men who the meth and marijuana belonged to, and they all said they didn’t know and denied ownership.
The men were then transported to the Jackson County Jail in Brownstown, where they were booked in between 6:56 p.m. and 7:19 p.m. without bond.
A Level 5 felony is punishable by one to six years in prison if convicted.