Two arrested, more than 4 pounds of meth seized in OKC traffic stop
A man and a woman were arrested during a traffic stop Thursday evening after police found a large amount of methamphetamine in their vehicle.
About 7:45 p.m. Thursday, police pulled over a car near Interstate 40 and Pennsylvania Avenue after the car drifted partially into another lane. Officers noted that after engaging emergency lights on a patrol vehicle the car “slow-rolled for a half mile” before coming to a stop near an on-ramp, according to a police report.
The driver of the vehicle, Christine Elaine Mathews, 36, was using a cellphone once the car stopped and the passenger, Matthew Scott Dunning, 34, was reportedly making gestures with his hands and appeared to be reaching under the passenger seat. An officer reported ordering Mathews out of the vehicle for “officer’s safety,” and escorted her to his vehicle. Dunning was also escorted to a police vehicle.
During a search of Dunning’s clothing, police reported finding a small bag with a white crystal powder, that later tested positive for methamphetamine.
Officers searched the vehicle and found a plastic bag of white crystal powder in a compartment in the driver’s door. The bag weighed just over 18 grams and the powder tested positive for methamphetamine.
A tote bag also was found in the car, which contained two large freezer bags with white crystal powder. The two bags weighed 4.4 pounds and the powder tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the report.
A magazine for a semi-automatic handgun and photos of Mathews posing with “thick stacks” of cash were among the items found in Mathews’ purse. Police said in the photo she was wearing a green shirt in one photo and a green bandanna was found in the car.
An officer noted that the green shirt and bandanna were “common indicators” of allegiance to a prison gang known to be active in illegal drug and gun trafficking in Oklahoma City.
Mathews and Dunning were arrested on complaints of aggravated trafficking in illegal drugs and booked into the Oklahoma County jail. Mathews is being held in lieu of $40,000 bail and Dunning is being held in lieu of $25,000 bail.