Missoula Police Catch Woman With Over 38 Grams of Meth

At around 11:40pm on Monday, a Missoula Police Department Officer observed a vehicle traveling northbound on Reserve Street. The vehicle first caught the officer’s attention because it failed to stop at a stop sign. Police Public Information Officer Lydia Arnold explains.

“While working a patrol shift, an officer observed a vehicle driving in a manor unsafe to everyone on the road,” Arnold said. “The vehicle was observed failing to stop at stop signs, turn into the correct lane of travel, and was drifting into the center of its lane. The officer initiated a traffic stop. When the vehicle came to a stop, the officer made contact with the single occupant, 46-year-old Angie Dobson, inside the vehicle. The officer immediately noticed indicators of impairment consistent with drug use.”

The officer said Dobson’s pupils were unusually constricted and slow to react to change in lighting conditions caused by his flashlight. He also observed several sores on Dobson’s face. Based the officer’s training and experience, those are physical indicators commonly associated with methamphetamine use.

He also observed a can of Mike’s Hard Lemonade on the front passenger seat, which Dobson admitted to drinking approximately two hours prior to the traffic stop.

“The officer requested she exit her vehicle for continued DUI investigation,” Arnold said. “The officer asked Dobson if she had any weapons on her. Dobson said she did not, but the officer noticed she kept attempting to reach in her pockets and could see something sticking out of her pockets. As the investigation continued, Dobson disclosed, without questioning from the officer, of drugs on her person and inside her vehicle.”

The officer discovered a Ziploc style bag of methamphetamine in Dobson’s right pant pocket. Dobson admitted to using methamphetamine a few hours prior to the traffic stop. Dobson then consented to a search of her vehicle.

During the search, the officer found a total of 38.41 grams of methamphetamine and a digital scale. Based on the officer’s experience, such amount is significantly more than a user amount and indicative of an intent to distribute. The officer estimated the street value of 38 grams of methamphetamine in Missoula to be over $3,000. Dobson stated all the methamphetamine was for her use and that she might give some to other people.

Dobson was charged with criminal possession with intent to distribute.