According to a probable cause affidavit filed in the weekend arrest of Washington County Clerk Sarah Milligan, Indiana State Police found only one and a half prescription pills in her purse after her arrest due to a traffic stop last Friday afternoon.
There was no alcohol or other drugs found in the vehicle or on her person.
Shortly after her arrest, Milligan was charged with the following:
- Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated Endangering a Person
- Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated
- Possession of a Controlled Substance
- Possession of a Controlled Substance
- Unlawful Possession or Use of a Legend Drug knowingly possess or use X, a Legend Drug
- Unlawful Possession or Use of a Legend Drug knowingly possess or use X, a Legend Drug
Her bond was set at $4300 full cash and she was released on December 29 at 6:21p.
The pills were taken by police to a local pharmacy where they were identified as generic forms of Adderral and Suboxone, both prescription drugs. Operating a Vehicle With a Controlled Substance In Her Body and two counts of Possession of a Schedule I-IV Controlled Substance, according to State Police Sgt. Carey Huls.
Huls said it is a violation of Indiana law to be in possession of a controlled substance without a valid prescription or to posses the substance without it being in the properly labeled container it was prescribed in.
Police did not say if the pills were prescribed to Milligan or another family member but Huls did note that because it is a controlled substance, it wouldn’t matter if they belonged to anyone else in the family.
Indiana State Police Trooper Justin Smith initially stopped Milligan on Friday, Dec. 28 shortly after 5p when he observed her driving on South Jackson Street and pulling into the Marathon gas station. She was driving a 1998 Lincoln Town Car with temporary tags, which were ripped and not readable.
Huls said all license plates must be securely fastened in a horizontal position to the vehicle and free from foreign materials and in a condition that is clearly legible per Indiana law.
“Anything that would prevent an officer from being able to read the number on the plate could result in an officer stopping an individual to check the legitimacy of a registration,” Huls wrote in a message.
Smith watched Milligan leave the gas station and observed her speeding up South Jackson Street (he said she was driving 50 mph in a 40 mph posted zone) and watched her pull into a parking lot at 1300 South Jackson Street (the former O’Sully’s package store).
(In an original story reported by WSLM, State Police informed Milligan was stopped on Main Street. The actual report notes she was stopped on South Jackson Street).
After administering three field sobriety tests, Smith said Milligan failed all three and he asked her for consent for a blood test.
According to Smith’s report, Milligan verbally and immediately consented to a blood test and was handcuffed and taken to St. Vincent Salem hospital where blood was drawn at approximately 5:20p.
The results of that test, which was sent to the Indiana State Police Post at Sellersburg, have not been returned.
Milligan was then taken to the Washington County Detention Center while Smith, ISP Trooper Brett Walters and Salem Police Officer Ally Garloch searched Milligan’s vehicle.
Officers located a black purse and inside they found a half tablet colored pink and imprinted with “N8” and a full tablet colored pink and imprinted with “2 0” on one side and “b 973” on the other side.
The police took the two pills to CVS pharmacy in Salem and had pharmacist Jared Cleek identify them as Generic Adderall 20mg and a generic form of Suboxone.
Police did not identify which was the half pill and which was a whole pill.
They were a schedule 3 and 4 controlled substance.
Washington County Prosecuting Attorney said “It is illegal to possess controlled substances without a valid prescription.”
“There are two ways a person can be charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated,” said Houchin. “One is if the officer observes signs of intoxication, which is the initial charge in this case. The second way is to operate a vehicle with drugs in your system. We determine what drugs are in a person’s system, in general, by a blood test sent to the Indiana Department of Toxicology. Those results usually take a few weeks to obtain.”
Trooper Smith said in his report that he observed Milligan with “glassy and bloodshot eyes” and “unable to maintain focus, almost as though she was looking past me.”
Trooper Smith said he asked her if she was healthy, and she replied yes. Smith asked if Milligan wore contacts and she replied, no.
Smith also said Milligan was slurring her speech and having trouble forming words.
When questioned about the ripped license plate, Milligan told police that she thought her husband had replaced it with the proper plate earlier in the day.
“I returned to her vehicle and asked her if she had been drinking earlier in the day or if she was on any medication that she had been prescribed,” wrote Smith in his report. “The subject . . . proceeded to break down sobbing. I asked the subject to step out of the vehicle and she refused, stating that she would call her defense attorney and proceeded to dial her phone.”
Smith said he called for backup which included Salem officers Nigel Smith and Ally Garloch.
At this point, Salem officer Smith said he had stopped Milligan the previous night regarding her ripped license tag and instructed her not to drive again. She was given a warning.
The officers helped Milligan out of the vehicle and Trooper Smith proceeded to administer the sobriety tests.
Smith said the first test was the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test. The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test, or the HGN evaluation, is a field sobriety test that is part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Standardized Field Sobriety Tests.
Nystagmus is an involuntary jerking of the eye that can be caused by central nervous system depressants.
“I positioned the subject so that she faced the east, away from the setting sun and away from the flashing lights of the police vehicles present,” noted Smith. “I held my finger approximately 12-15 inches in front of her nose, with the tip slightly above eye level. I first checked her eyes for the same pupil sizes, which they were the same size. I observed no resting nystagmus. I also checked that the eyes tracked. The eyes tracked together. I checked her left and right eyes for the lack of smooth pursuit. The suspect had a lack of smooth pursuit in the left and right eyes.”
Smith said he checked her eyes for distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation.
“The suspect had distinct nystagmus at maximum deviation,” he noted in the report. “in the left and right eyes. I next checked her for onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees. The suspect had the onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees in the left and right eyes. I next checked for vertical nystagmus. The suspect had vertical nystagmus which could indicate a high blood alcohol content level or the presence of drugs in her system.”
Smith said she exhibited six clues during the test, thus failing the test.
The next test was the Walk and Turn test.
“I instructed her to stand with her right foot on the line and her left foot in front of it,” wrote Smith. “I instructed her to keep her arms to her side and not to begin until told to do so. I explained the rest of the test to the suspect at this time, during which she could not keep her balance, swayed from side to side. During the Walking Stage of the test, the suspect missed her heel to toe on steps 4, 5 and 6 of the first nine steps taken. She missed her heel to toe steps 3, 5 and 8 on the second nine steps taken. The suspect, while walking an imaginary straight line, proceeded to curve on every step taken.”
Smith noted Milligan did not turn as instructed.
“The eight clues for the test are – can’t balance during instructions, starts too soon, stops while walking, doesn’t touch heel-to-toe, steps off line, uses arms to balance, loses balance on turn or turns incorrectly, and takes the wrong number of steps. The subject fails the test if they step off the line three or more times, is in danger of falling or cannot do the test,” noted Smith.
He said she exhibited half the clues and failed the test.
The final test given was the One Leg Stand test.
“I instructed her to stand with her feet together and her arms to her sides,” wrote Smith. “I instructed her to stand on one leg with the other leg out in front of her, her toes pointed and her foot approximately six inches off the ground. I instructed her to count one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two….and so forth while looking at her foot until instructed to stop.”
During the test, Smith said Milligan raised her arms for balance and hopped on time, raising her arms while doing so. Smith noted the clues are – sways while balancing, uses arms to balance, hops and puts foot down.
According to Smith, Milligan exhibited three clues and failed the test.
Smith said the vehicle was towed and all evidence collected and transported to the post where it was entered into evidence and stored for safe keeping.
On Saturday, Dec. 29, Smith said he was going to contact a Washington County Commissioner for an interview and apply for a search warrant to search Milligan’s work space in the Washington County Justice Center.
Milligan will be arraigned in Superior Court on January 28, 2019 at 1:15p. A special judge was assigned in the case. John Evans from Harrison County will preside.
