Ritchie County Sheriff Department arrested and charged Steven Hand, 35, Misty Cottrill-Yohn, 36, for traffic violation and possession with intent to distribute after the duo reportedly took deputies on a four-mile pursuit.
Deputies first noticed the duo’s car, a silver Hyundai Tiburon with a cracked windshield, while on patrol duty on Glendale Road, Cairo. Driving with a cracked windshield contravenes West Virginia traffic laws. So, the officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop to inspect the damage.
However, when the driver, Steven Hand, noticed deputies were trying to catch up, he reportedly accelerated at so great a speed that deputies promptly activated their emergency lights and siren.
With officers hot on his tail, the driver reached speeds of 90–100 miles per hour in a posted 55 mile-per-hour zone, police reported.
A second cruiser joined the chase just before Hand got to U.S. Route 50. A momentary loss of control caused Hand to crash the Hyundai at the intersection of Buky Run and Route 50. The officers halted and proceeded to bring Hand and his passenger, Misty Cottrill-Yohn out of the vehicle. Neither occupant suffered any significant injury from the crash.
Then the deputies performed a search, during which they found three bags of presumed marijuana and three bags of presumed methamphetamine. The occupants also had several small resealable bags in the car, indicating they were small-time drug dealers.
The bag of marijuana reportedly weighed 38.4 grams, and the bag of methamphetamine reportedly weighed 28.5 grams. A field test confirmed that the bags did indeed contain marijuana and methamphetamine.
The Ritchie County Sheriff Department charged Hand and Cottrill-Yohn with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and transferred them to North Central Regional Jail under the supervision of the West Virginia Department of Corrections.
Per WV Code §60A-4-401, possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, like methamphetamine, is a felony. If found guilty and convicted, the offense is punishable by at least twelve-month imprisonment in a state correctional facility and up to $25,000 in fines.