Search for stolen car leads to drug bust
Feb. 2—ASHLAND — It almost played out like a hard-boiled detective novel, East Ashland style.
A seedy motel, a club, a stolen car and a bit of dope.
According to Ashland Police, it happened Tuesday evening.
Police were on the hunt for a stolen Chevy Cruze when they received reports that a man had parked it the Moose Lodge and went inside, court records show.
When officers caught the man walking down the street, they confronted him and asked if he had just left the Moose Lodge, records show.
The man said yes and he admitted to driving the Cruze, which was reported stolen the night before, according to police.
Police discovered the man also paid a visit to a room at the Winchester Inn, according to court records.
They knocked on the door and a woman answered — in plain view, officers saw digital scales and a small bag of suspected meth, a citation states.
The woman said she smoked meth about once a week and turned over the drugs, $140 in cash and some Suboxone strips, records show.
While officers spoke with the woman, her phone kept sounding with text messages. The officer asked the woman if he could read her messages and she agreed to it, records show.
They were from customers looking to score dope, records show.
Brandon S. Castle, 32, of Louisa, was booked in connection with the stolen car on a single count of receiving stolen property in excess of $10,000 in value. He is being held at the county jail on a $5,000 bond.
Julie Watson, 47, of Ashland, was booked on charges of trafficking in less than 2 grams of meth, trafficking in less than 20 units of a third-degree substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
She's being held on a $10,000 bond.
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