By SUE SUCHYTA
Sunday Times Newspapers
DOWNRIVER – Local law enforcement said drunken driving arrests were down over the Labor Day weekend, but opioid use continues to be a factor in impaired driving arrests, mirroring current addiction trends.
Riverview Police Chief Clifford Rosebohm said of approximately 40 traffic citations issued from Sept. 2 to 6, there were 10 arrests for driving with a suspended license, and four arrests for operating while impaired.
Melvindale police arrested a 32-year-old Southgate woman at 12:22 p.m. Sept. 3 when several witnesses reported a woman driving west on Outer Drive in the eastbound lanes near Hanna.
Officers said the woman, who appeared nervous and frantic, had open wounds on her arms and face characteristic of heroin users, and her pupils were constricted. She was subsequently charged with possession of heroin and narcotic paraphernalia.
Allen Park police arrested a 36-year-old woman for drunken driving and operating without a license at 4:08 a.m. Sept. 3 on East I-94 near the Southfield Freeway.
The woman, who claimed another driver cut her off, swerved and hit about 20 feet of guard rail before coming to rest in the grass near the freeway, with her car resting on the driver’s side.
Officers noticed her eyes were bloodshot, and she had difficulty standing. A preliminary breath test was administered, and the woman had a blood-alcohol content of 0.11, above the legal limit of 0.08 for drunken driving in Michigan.
Wyandotte police discovered a passenger with heroin when they pulled over a driver at 2:15 p.m. Sept. 5 who failed to signal a left turn from Goddard to 6th, and who had an expired license plate.
The driver, a 27-year-old Taylor man, said his driver’s license was suspended.
The passenger, a 21-year-old Wyandotte woman, had forearm bleeding from a recent heroin injection, and after being questioned by officers, she removed two heroin needles she had attempted to hide in a body cavity.
A search of the vehicle revealed two glass pipes with marijuana residue, a digital scale, and a folded lottery ticket with a small amount of heroin.
The vehicle, a 1997 Ford Expedition, was impounded, and the driver and passenger were booked and held.
Wyandotte police also arrested a 50-year-old Woodhaven woman at 9:52 p.m. Sept. 5 for cocaine possession, a liquor violation and obstructing officers.
Residents near 19th and Ludington reported a 2013 white BMW convertible left overnight with the top down. When police ran the plate, records indicated the vehicle owner had multiple narcotic felony warrants.
When the owner of the BMW arrived in a red 1991 Mazda Miata, she told officers she was waiting for a tow truck.
When the officers questioned her about an LSD possession warrant in Woodhaven, and a cocaine possession warrant in Taylor, she began to lie to officers and struggle with them, and had to be electronically subdued.
Cocaine was found in the Miata, which was impounded. A pina colada the driver dumped onto the floor when when saw police officers was also noted in the Miata. The BMW was towed for safekeeping.