Two women were jailed Thursday on felony drug charges after the Carson City Sheriff's Office Special Enforcement Team was tipped off that they may have been transporting narcotics from Reno.
Arrested were Joanna Shirey, 21, and Alicia Warthan, 32, both of Carson City. Officers attempting to locate the suspect vehicle, a blue Suzuki Sidekick with a white top, found it tailgating a white sedan at 6:23 p.m. on Russell Way. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle at Long and Rand Avenue but it continued without stopping, the arrest report states.
The suspect vehicle turned south and accelerated into the parking lot of a motel in the 1400 block of Rand Avenue, the arrest report states. Officers observed the driver, Joanna Warthan-Shirey, toss something toward the back of the vehicle before being detained.
She told officers that her "foot slipped off the clutch" and did not see that she was being stopped, hence the reason why she pulled into the parking lot so quickly, the arrest report states. She advised she is staying with her cousin in a room at the motel.
Officers asked if they could search the vehicle for drugs, explaining that the sheriff's office had received word that she was transporting drugs from Reno. The woman advised they could search the vehicle "with the drug dog, do it now," the arrest report states.
Sgt. Brian Humphrey arrived on scene with K9 Ivo and an exterior sniff of the vehicle had a positive alert. In the back of the vehicle officers located a sunglass case with a "tooter" straw, empty baggies and a sponge with wet residue on it.
The woman advised she had a marijuana pipe in her makeup bag and gave officers permission to search the bag. From the bag, officers recovered two meth pipes and an empty baggie with meth residue and foil with black residue on it.
Deputies then turned their attention to Alicia Warthan, who had a bottle of tramidol without a label inside her purse that she gave officers permission to search. Also found were four hypodermic devices and several vet needle tops.
Both women were arrested. Joanna Shirey Warthan faces charges of possession of methamphetamine, a felony, three misdemeanor counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, and a moving violation, following too close. Bail: $6,038. Alicia Warthan faces a felony charge of possession of a dangerous drug without a prescription, a felony. Bail: $2,500.
In other arrests:
— A 22-year-old Silver Springs man was booked Thursday, 6:21 p.m. into Carson City Jail on a misdemeanor warrant, failure to appear in Carson City Justice Court. The warrant was issued March 10, 2014. Bail: $1,595.
A 22-year-od Carson City man was arrested Thursday, 11:37 p.m. in the 900 block of North Carson Street on a misdemeanor charge of violation of a suspended sentence.
Officers were dispatched to a business after a report of three men on the roof. It was determined the men were not trying to break into the business but they instead said they had been drinking and thought it would be fun to climb up on the top of the building and "chill," the arrest report states.
A records check for the 22-year-old showed he was on Alternative Sentencing with a "no alcohol" clause. He provided a breath sample of .074. An Alternative Sentencing officer asked the man be arrested for violation of a suspended sentence. Bail: $1,000.
— A 48-year-old Vallejo, Calif., man was arrested Friday, 12:14 a.m. in the 500 block of North Carson Street on a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana. According to the arrest report, officers responded to the area when Capital City Patrol detained a man attempting to hot wire a car in a parking lot.
The original owner of the vehicle later confirmed that he had sold it to the suspect recently. Officers observed a marijuana cigarette on the front seat of the car, along with wire cutters and a hammer.
An exterior of the car was searched using a K9. Officers located a bag with tobacco and marijuana mixed into it, the arrest report states. The man denied the bag was his and and said there wasn't marijuana in it. He later said it was just a small amount of marijuana and he did not want to go to jail, the arrest report states. Bail: $737.
— A 52-year-old Carson City woman was arrested Friday, 3:05 a.m. in the 3000 block of Highway 50 East on a confirmed warrant for misdemeanor probation violation. Officers were called to a casino regarding suspicious subjects inside and learned of the woman's warrant. Bail: $3,000.
Those arrested and facing criminal charges are innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.