(SOUTH HURON, ON) – A call to police from an employee working a drive-thru helped police remove an impaired driver from the roads as well it resulted in police taking some drugs off the street.
On Tuesday, October 20th, 2020 at approximately 5:00 p.m. Huron County Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) responded to a restaurant located on Main Street North in Exeter to investigate a possible impaired driver that was just served in the drive-thru.
Minutes later officers arrived on scene and located the suspect vehicle parked at the restaurant. The investigating officer spoke with the car driver and upon doing so he became suspicious the driver was possibly impaired by a drug. A Standard Field Sobriety Test (SFST) was conducted at the scene. The driver performed poorly and was subsequently placed under arrest for Impaired Operation.
The driver was then transported to the Huron OPP Detachment where he later performed tests conducted by a Drug Recognition Evaluator (DRE) and it was deemed by the DRE the driver was impaired by a drug.
A search incident to arrest of the motor vehicle resulted in police locating a quantity of cannabis well over the legal limit as well as some suspected Fentanyl. In addition, while police were attempting to identify the passenger of the vehicle she took off running from the officer and attempted to flee. The alert officer gave chase and was able to take her into custody.
The driver, Justin BEATTIE, 39 years of age from South Huron was charged with Impaired Operation, Possession of a Schedule I Substance for the Purposes of Trafficking – Fentanyl and Possession for the Purposes of Distributing Cannabis under the Cannabis Act. He was released from custody with a court appearance scheduled for December 14, 2020 at the Ontario Court of Justice – Goderich.
The passenger, Dayna STANLEY, 27 years of age from Kingsville has been charged with Possession of a Schedule I Substance for the Purposes of Trafficking – Fentanyl, Possession for the Purposes of Distributing Cannabis under the Cannabis Act, Obstruct Peace Officer and Fail to Comply with Release Order. The accused remains in custody with a court appearance scheduled for October 23, 2020 at the Ontario Court of Justice – Goderich.