Illinois driver arrested locally on felony cocaine charges

A vehicle traveling south on I75 last weekend was stopped by a Houston County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputy who observed it while patrolling the area. The deputy was parked in the center median watching southbound traffic when he took note that the silver 2006 Buick Lucerne’s tag was made to be almost indecipherable by dirt and debris.

As he began to follow the Buick, he was able to get a closer look at the tag, and when he called in the number, a member of dispatch advised that the tag was expired and there were questions regarding whether the vehicle was insured.

Upon pulling over the driver and asking for his license, the deputy reported, “I observed as he was attempting to retrieve it, his hands were shaking uncontrollably.”

The deputy asked the man—who was later identified as 58-year-old Scott William Donlan of Princeton, Illinois—to step from the vehicle, and after verifying that he had no weapons on his person, he asked him to sit in the front passenger of the patrol car so that they could converse. When the deputy informed Donlan the reason he was stopped, the driver responded by saying he didn’t know why his tag came back expired because he had paid it and could produce a receipt.

All the while, Donlan continued to visibly shake, and the deputy also noted, “he was breathing heavily to the point that I asked him what was wrong.”

In response, Donlan showed the deputy his right arm and right leg and claimed he had an allergy to bread that was causing bumps on his skin.

When the deputy told the suspect that his behavior was making him nervous, Donlan replied, “I just don’t like cops.”

The assistance of a K9 unit had been requested from Perry Police Department (PPD), and upon its arrival, permission was asked of Donlan to search the Buick, but Donlan told police that he did not want them to search his car. He did tell the deputy, however, that he had his permission to look in his glove compartment to see the receipt showing his paid registration.

Verification of the updated registration was located, but the deputy still informed Donlan of his experienced suspicions that some sort of criminal activity was in the works. This was confirmed when the K9 that was brought in gave indication of an illegal substance at the driver’s side front door and again at the passenger side front door.

At this point, despite Donlan’s lack of approval, the deputy reported, “I advised the suspect of the K9 alert and advised him that we would search the vehicle.”

The examination by the attending HCSO deputy and the PPD K9 officer yielded a small brown envelope with a small amount of cocaine in the driver’s side door and a larger amount of cocaine inside of a pill bottle that was located in the center console.

As a result of the search, Donlan was arrested for Possession of Schedule I-Cocaine. His car was impounded in Elko, Georgia.

HHJ News