Driver admits to driving and smoking marijuana, driver arrested

Tuesday, November 19, 2024 at 12:00 AM

By Kathy Bottorff

A driver admitting to smoking marijuana while driving to work was arrested Sunday at about 4:30 p.m.

Officer Fisher with the Plymouth Police Department observed a vehicle traveling South on Michigan Road from Veterans Parkway on Sunday. The officer ran the vehicle plate to get a picture of the registered owner, and the result was that the driver and owner of the vehicle were suspended, so a traffic stop was initiated. The driver pulled into the McDonald's parking lot on North Michigan Street.

The driver was suspended prior and admitted to smoking marijuana while driving to work. Field sobriety tests were conducted, and a warrant was obtained for a blood draw.

The driver was identified as Princess Aries Neya Watkins, 39, of South Bend. She was arrested and transported to the Marshall County Jail, where she was booked for driving while suspended with a prior and operating while under the influence of marijuana at 6:30 p.m. Her cash bond was paid at 11:05 p.m. and Watkins was released on bond.

Readers are reminded that charging information supported by an affidavit of probable cause is a mere allegation that a crime has been committed and that there is only probable cause to believe a crime has been committed. They are presumed innocent throughout the proceedings and are entitled to be represented by counsel and entitled to a trial by jury at which the State is obligated to provide proof beyond a reasonable doubt before a judgment of guilt may be made.