September 21, 2018
By: Dwayne Page
A drunk driver who tried to swallow pills to keep Smithville Police from confiscating them has been charged with DUI and tampering with evidence.
28 year old Dustin Allen Pedigo was also cited for three counts of simple possession. A co-defendant, 18 year old Niki Ann Mabeus of 120 Village Place was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to Smithville Police, an officer responded to a hit and run accident on August 23 and spotted a vehicle fitting the description. After initiating a traffic stop, the officer spoke with the driver, Pedigo and noticed a yellow pill laying in his lap. When asked to step out of the vehicle, Pedigo put pills in his mouth in an attempt to hide them. A deputy assisting the officer ordered Pedigo to spit the pills out but he refused. Officers then pulled Pedigo out of the vehicle in an attempt to recover the pills he had put in his mouth. Pedigo resisted and tried to get back into the vehicle. He was then put on the ground and placed in handcuffs.
Pedigo, who appeared to be under the influence, consented to but performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. During a search incident to arrest, police recovered from Pedigo’s vehicle several types of pills believed to be Suboxone, Alpraolam, and Gabepentin.
A passenger, Mabeus, produced several syringes from her bra believed to have been used to shoot up Dilaudid. She was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Bond for Pedigo is $5,000.