Routine Traffic Stop Turns Into Drug Bust

It was a bad day to have expired license plates for James Rouse.

Before officers finished their traffic stop on Saturday with the 34-year-old Spokane man, they found a collection of stolen checks and a syringe filled with heroin, said Dick Cottam, police spokesman.

The checks were lying outside the passenger side of the car. When officers questioned passenger Angel Hill, 27, about the checks, she denied any knowledge of them, then said they belonged to Rouse. Rouse said the belonged to Hill, Cottam said.

The checks, worth $1,200, had been stolen from six people. At least one had been bleached and Hill’s name filled in, Cottam said.

In arresting Hill, police also found a syringe in her pocket organizer, which later tested positive for heroin. Hill said the organizer was hers but had no idea where the syringe came from, Cottam said. , DataTimes