Two men were arrested after a traffic stop at 3:30 a.m. Saturday in the area of East County Road 120S and South U.S. 31.
Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Deputy Dylan Prather, who is assigned to the Intelligence Led Policing Unit, a partnership with the Columbus Police Department, saw a Jeep pull to a dead end and shut the headlights off, deputies said. Prather saw the vehicle did not have a license plate and conducted a traffic stop.
The driver, Justin Poole, 33, of Scipio, and the passenger, Martin Cox, 38, of Elizabethtown, appeared nervous while talking with Prather, deputies said. While standing at the vehicle, Prather observed tools in the vehicle commonly used in the theft of vehicle catalytic converters. He also saw catalytic converters in the Jeep.
There have been ongoing reports of catalytic converter thefts over the last several months, deputies said.
Prather asked K9 Officer Leah Burton and her K9 partner to the scene. The dog alerted to narcotics after sniffing the perimeter of the vehicle, deputies said. A search of the vehicle was then conducted.
A firearm, syringe, cutting tools and catalytic converters were located inside of the vehicle, deputies said. It was later determined the times were stolen from a local business just prior to being pulled over by law enforcement, deputies said.
Poole arrested on preliminary charges of carrying a handgun without a license, unlawful possession of a syringe and four counts of theft of items worth more than $750.
Cox arrested on preliminary charges of unlawful possession of a syringe and four counts of theft of items worth more than $750.
Both are being held on a 48-hour hold at the Bartholomew County Jail due to the ongoing investigation, deputies said.
