Two Arrested In Stolen Vehicle Investigation
Staff Report
WARSAW — A Fort Wayne man and a Leesburg woman face charges after allegedly being found in possession of a stolen vehicle.
Jamie Dashawn Shannon, 37, 1304 Marion St., Fort Wayne, is charged with theft, a level 6 felony; theft, a class A misdemeanor; possession of paraphernalia, a class C misdemeanor; and theft prior conviction enhancement, a level 6 felony.
Dominique Jean Simmons, 32, 267 EMS T25 Lane, Leesburg, is charged with obstruction of justice and possession of a syringe, both level 6 felonies.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on June 18, Warsaw Police were contacted in reference to the possibility of a stolen vehicle, described as a dark-colored Chevrolet Malibu.
An officer located the unoccupied vehicle in the Walmart parking lot.
The officer contacted Walmart asset protection and reviewed video footage where a man and woman were seen exiting the vehicle and entering the store. Asset protection further advised that the two subjects were exiting the store and heading toward the vehicle.
Once the pair arrived outside of the Chevrolet Malibu, Winona Lake Police officers stopped them, placed them in handcuffs and separated them. The man was later identified as Shannon and the woman was identified as Simmons.
Shannon said he received the stolen vehicle from a friend and drove the vehicle to Simmons’ house where he switched the license plate.
Simmons said Shannon had driven another Chevrolet Malibu to her residence and removed the license plate and placed it on the vehicle they drove to Walmart. The license plate that Shannon placed on the dark-colored Chevrolet Malibu that Shannon and Simmons drove to Walmart was stolen. Shannon and Simmons did not have permission to possess the license plate.
A K-9 officer conducted an air sniff of the vehicle and made a positive alert. Officers then conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle and found a blue and yellow glass pipe. Shannon initially said he didn’t know anything about the pipe but later admitted that the device was his and that he had smoked marijuana in it several hours earlier.
Simmons told officers she needed to use the restroom and made it seem urgent. An officer performed a pat-down search of Simmons and did not locate any contraband or weapons. She was escorted into a private restroom at Walmart and a female officer remained inside the restroom with Simmons. The officer told Simmons she needed to see the contents of the toilet prior to Simmons flushing it.
Simmons turned her back to the officer once she stood up and flushed the toilet, using her body to cover the contents that were flushed.
The officer then noticed Simmons attempting to put something in her pants. The officer ordered Simmons to show her waistband. Simmons turned her back to the officer, appearing to mess with her waistband. Simmons then allegedly displayed her private area and the inside of her pants. She was placed in the caged section of the patrol vehicle and taken to the Kosciusko County Jail.
The officer searched the police vehicle after Simmons was placed into custody and found a small clear sandwich baggie with a torn-off corner and white powder residue near the patrol rifle rack. The officer had searched and cleared this area prior to transporting Simmons and knew the baggie was contraband from Simmons.
A more extensive search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of two syringes.
Police then reviewed in-car camera footage and saw a video of Simmons retrieving something from her waistband, lifting her pelvis off the seat and doing something with her hands underneath her. Simmons then bent down and ate something out of her hand. After that, she moved around in her seat and appeared to shove something in the crack of the patrol seat, where the syringes were located.
During a body scan at the jail, officers saw an object that appeared to be abnormal and possibly contraband that was initially thought to be in a body cavity of Simmons. After an examination at Kosciusko Community Hospital, it was determined that the item was in her stomach.
Simmons later allegedly told an officer that she had consumed Suboxone while in the police vehicle and that this was also the substance she was concealing in a body cavity. During the investigation, Simmons also said she had concealed marijuana in a body cavity.
Officers were able to recover the stolen Chevrolet Malibu that Shannon drove to Simmons’ residence.
Shannon was previously convicted of theft in Allen County in May. Simmons is on pretrial release in Allen County where she is charged with theft. She is also on probation in Allen County for resisting law enforcement.
Shannon and Simmons were both booked at the Kosciusko Count Jail June 18 on $5,250 surety and cash bonds.