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POCATELLO – A woman from Pocatello faces two felony charges, as well as numerous misdemeanors and offenses, after allegedly crashing her SUV into a tree.
Megan Renee Housel, 26, has been charged with felony possession of methamphetamine and destruction of evidence. She also faces misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana, possession of paraphernalia, resisting arrest and six separate charges of theft, according to court documents.
Officers from the Pocatello Police Department were dispatched to the Belmont Road area near Stockman Road around 8:30 p.m. on August 10 following reports that a vehicle struck a tree, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Officers found an unoccupied white Ford SUV with no license plates displayed.
A witness told officers that a woman drove her vehicle up the tree. She told the witness that she had called the police to report the accident more than 30 minutes previously. She had left before the police arrived, the witness said.
Officers were able to obtain registration information through the vehicle’s VIN and discovered that it belonged to Housel.
Looking over the vehicle, officers saw a Zip Top bag, containing white residue, near the vehicle’s gear lever.
A Chevrolet Trailblazer approached, driven by a man who was not identified in court documents. Housel got out of the passenger seat and approached the officers.
Officers asked for his driver’s license, registration and proof of insurance. She was unable to produce registration and insurance information, resulting in violation charges for both.
But as she searched for the documents in her vehicle, officers reportedly saw her trying to hide the Zip Top bag seen earlier under the passenger seat.
The officers asked her to get out of the vehicle and told her that she was being detained. She would have refused and should have been removed from the SUV. She tried to walk away as the police handcuff her, the affidavit read.
She told officers the bag contained marijuana. However, field tests gave a presumptive positive result for methamphetamine.
During a search of Housel’s handbag, officers found a scale with a white crystalline residue, a round rubber container with suspected THX wax, a sandwich-sized bag containing suspected marijuana and a second bag containing a white crystalline residue. Officers also found paraphernalia during a search of the vehicle.
Officers placed Housel under arrest and transported her to Bannock County Jail.
Housel was also charged with six counts of misdemeanor theft. Court documents do not detail the reasons for these charges.
If convicted, Housel faces up to seven years in prison and a $ 15,000 fine for the possession charge, and an additional five years and $ 10,000 for the destruction of evidence.
She was released on her own commitment to court services following a preliminary hearing on August 18. An indictment has not yet been scheduled.
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