A couple is charged with carrying methamphetamine and obstructing an officer after a Rice Lake K-9 alerted to their vehicle during a traffic check.
Travis R. Taylor, 43, of Rice Lake, and Talea J. Hanson, 47, of Superior, were both charged with meth possession and hindering an officer on Thursday in Barron County Circuit Court. Taylor is also charged with misdemeanor bail jumping.
Taylor’s initial appearance is scheduled for Wednesday, November 27, and a $250 cash bond has been posted. Hanson has been summons to court, with an initial appearance set for December 11.
Possessing meth as part of a crime can result in a $10,000 fine and up to 3½ years in jail. The defendant’s operating privileges could be suspended for six months to five years.
According to the criminal complaint, at 8:58 a.m. on November 20, Rice Lake police stopped a vehicle on West Knapp Street. The vehicle carried the two defendants as well as Hanson’s seven-year-old kid.
Hanson and Taylor denied that anything unlawful was in the vehicle.
Taylor suggested that the Rice Lake K-9 alerted because of the vehicle’s corrosion. During the investigation of the vehicle, the officer discovered two prescription pill bottles containing Hanson’s prescription medicines, which were long past the deadline.
Officers searched Hanson and discovered nothing valuable in her pockets or the coat she was holding. When questioned why the dog would alert to the automobile, she said she didn’t know.
The officer noticed Hanson clutching the hoodie she had previously requested for her daughter. The police returned Hanson’s jacket and traded it for the hoodie. While doing so, the officer noticed Hanson holding a purple-tinted blender bottle.
A rubber tube and a glass pipe were discovered inside the blender bottle. The officer understood from previous experience that the gadget, known as a “hotrail,” is used to take meth. It was a noticeable white residue with black burn marks on it.
Hanson claimed that Taylor urged her to hide it under her jacket since he was on bond.
Taylor denied asking Hanson to hide the blender bottle, but said he’d “take the blame for it.” He acknowledged that the hotrail was his.