Meth Suspect Arrested, Again, During I-74 Traffic Stop

By Mike Perleberg (Left to right) Wilhelmina McDaniel, James Rose, Anthony Moore. Photos by Franklin County Sheriff's Department. (Batesville, Ind.) - Three people - at least one of whom frequents the Franklin County arrest records - are accused of dealing in methamphetamine. Franklin County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Chris Huerkamp said Batesville Police Patrolman Trevor Comer attempted to pull over a 2014 Jeep Laredo on Interstate 74 near the Franklin-Decatur county line last Saturday night, February 10. However, the driver Wilhelmina McDaniel, 44, of Laurel, did not stop until Indiana State Police Trooper Jordan Craig, who was also patrolling the area, caught up and helped box the suspect vehicle in. Officers soon learned that the front seat passenger, James Rose, 47, of Laurel, was wanted on a felony warrant. In the back seat was Anthony Moore, 45, of Brookville. A state police K-9 unit sniffed around the vehicle and indicated the presence of drugs. Officers say they found hidden between the driver’s seat cushions a bag of a white crystal powder believed to be methamphetamine. The bag weighed 1.58 ounces. The three occupants of the vehicle were arrested. Huerkamp said McDaniel, Rose and Moore are each charged with Dealing in Methamphetamine (level 2 felony). Formal charges were filed Tuesday, February 13. “Under Indiana Law, illegal possession of an item can be proven with sufficient evidence regardless of whether the possession is sole or joint with others, or if the item is possessed directly or indirectly. The weight of the methamphetamine involved enhances the charge to a Level 2 Felony, which carries a possible sentence of 10-30 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections,” Huerkamp said. The three defendants will have their initial hearings in Franklin County Circuit Court on Wednesday, February 21. McDaniel has a number of past drug-related run-ins with local law enforcement. In 2013, she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years for Dealing in Cocaine and Dealing in a Controlled Substance. In that same case, she was accused of attempting to bribe and intimidate a witness, which she later pleaded guilty to. Last December, Franklin County probation officers conducted a home check at Wilhelmina's Laurel residence. Drugs were found there. Wilhelmina and two others were arrested. RELATED STORIES: Probation Home Check Results In Meth Arrests Dealer Gets 10 Yr. Sentence; More Charges Pending Woman Allegedly Sought To Harm Witness