Evansville Police: Man Tried to Eat Drugs During Traffic Stop

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — A traffic stop in Evansville on Monday led to the arrest of 40-year-old Rashaun Lockett, who police say attempted to eat a “large mouthful” of illegal drugs to avoid getting arrested.

“The Evansville Police Department says they initiated a traffic stop after Lockett did not utilize his turn signal during that stop,” Evansville Public Information Officer Sgt. Anthony Aussieker said.

When Lockett was asked to step out of the vehicle and turned around during a pat-down, officers noticed he had an object inside of his mouth. Lockett later admitted that he tried to swallow marijuana to avoid being charged with it.

When officers moved to arrest him, a struggle ensued as Lockett forcefully resisted. “Lockett attempted to go back to the vehicle that he had been removed from,” Aussieker explained. “When he was taken to the ground, he tried to resist, pulled his hands under his body, and forcefully resisted in that way.” The resistance resulted in minor injuries to three different officers. Aussieker added that the injuries were superficial, just “scraps, bumps, and bruises,” and did not require immediate treatment or hospitalization.

Furthermore, a subsequent search of Lockett’s vehicle uncovered more evidence, including K2 (synthetic cannabis) and a substantial quantity of prescription pills that were labeled with a different person’s name. “Our ambulance service, which is AMR (American Medical Response), responded to check on Lockett as well, as officers transported him to a hospital,” Aussieker said.

Lockett was eventually taken to the Vanderburgh County Jail, where he was charged with possession of synthetic drugs, resisting law enforcement, obstruction of justice, operating without insurance, failure to use his turn signal, and improper display.