LAKE CHARLES, La. — Police officers suspected that a car they had pulled over was stolen, so they called the registered owner and left a message.
But when the owner called back, officers say, she apparently thought the message was from a drug dealer, and she was busted for allegedly trying to buy crack cocaine.
“Officers put in a lot of energy to close a case, so we never mind getting one on sheer luck and stupidity,” Lake Charles police Sgt. Mark Kraus said.
He said officers Hope Kingery and George Miller stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation and the driver could not produce identification or a valid driver’s license. Miller called the car’s registered owner and left a message, but in the meantime they determined that the vehicle wasn’t stolen and allowed the driver to leave, Kraus said.
About an hour later, Miller got a call on his cell phone from the apparent owner of the car, “who stated that she would like to buy $150 in crack,” Kraus said.
Miller agreed to a meeting, which led to the arrest of Jill Foreman, 33, and fiance Larry Rieck, 49, both of Sulphur.
Foreman was freed on bail after being booked with conspiracy to distribute a controlled dangerous substance, the sheriff’s office said. Rieck remained in custody Tuesday on the same charge, the sheriff’s office said.
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