Belle Fourche woman charged with smuggling drugs into jail

A Belle Fourche woman faces felony drug charges including one of attempting to take a controlled substance into the Crook County Detention Center. Sandra Vinson was arrested after her vehicle was spotted in apparent distress on the interstate.

On June 30 at around 10:30 p.m., a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper was notified of a vehicle near milepost 202 of I-90 that may have been in need of assistance as it was parked in the emergency lane and a male subject appeared to be attempting to flag down passersby.

The trooper located the vehicle and knocked on the passenger door. He observed a female, later identified as Vinson, sit up from a reclined position in the driver seat and roll down the window.

Vinson allegedly stated they had run out of fuel and her brother was en route to the gas station in Beulah for assistance. The trooper notes in his affidavit that he noticed her eyes were bloodshot and watery and could smell alcohol emitting from the vehicle.

While continuing basic questioning, the trooper allegedly noticed an open beer can in the center console and asked Vinson if she had had anything to drink and if the can was hers. Vinson allegedly answered “no” to both questions and said she had only had an alcoholic drink “way earlier” in the day.

The trooper reports that Vinson was unable to provide identification. She was escorted to the patrol vehicle, where the trooper allegedly smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from her person.

Vinson allegedly distanced herself from the trooper by leaning against the door and facing away from him and was hesitant to verbally answer questions. The trooper requested that she perform field sobriety tests, the results of which gave him probable cause to believe she was impaired past the point of safely operating a vehicle.

Vinson voluntarily submitted to a portable breath test, which allegedly gave a presumptive reading of .13 blood alcohol. She was arrested for driving under the influence and placed in the patrol car and booked into the Crook County Detention Center.

The trooper reports that Vinson was asked if she was in possession of any controlled substances and informed that taking any such items into the jail constitutes a felony. She allegedly denied possessing any controlled substances.

At around midnight, the detention deputy reports that Vinson was brought into the detention center, where he began an initial pat search before escorting her into the facility. Vinson allegedly again denied possessing any controlled substances or having any prior drug charges.

While conducting the booking procedure, the deputy reports that he was informed by a dispatcher that Vinson had a criminal history that included multiple arrests for drugs and various other crimes, including an arrest in Lawrence County on June 28.

Due to her criminal history, the deputy informed Vinson that her purse would be searched thoroughly for illegal substances. Just before 1 a.m., the deputy allegedly located a receipt wrapped around a small amount of suspected marijuana.

Vinson was charged with felony counts of taking a controlled substance into jail and possession of a controlled substance (third or subsequent offense) and one misdemeanor count of driving while under the influence. She has two known prior convictions for possession from Utah in 2005 and 2010.