Contributed Photo/Courtesy GCSO: Katrina Jewell, 49, was jailed on multiple charges after initially refusing to exit her vehicle during a traffic stop.
By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A woman who believed a police officer did not have the right to have her exit her vehicle during a traffic stop received a new space to sit . . . a jail cell.
Katrina Kristine Jewell, 49, was arrested late in the evening of Tuesday, April 23, and booked into the Graham County Adult Detention Facility on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, misconduct involving weapons, and failure to comply with a police officer.
According to a Safford Police report, an officer observed a white van westbound on U.S. Highway 70 at about 11:45 p.m. and discovered that the vehicle’s registration was suspended for not having any insurance. The officer then conducted a traffic stop, and the van pulled over near the Bull Pen bar.
Upon contact, both the driver, later identified as Jewell, and her front-seat passenger refused to exit the vehicle or open the door despite the officer informing them that the vehicle’s registration was expired and the van would have to be impounded.
When the officer advised Jewell she would be arrested for failure to comply with an officer she stated the officer had no right to demand her to step outside of her vehicle and rolled up her window. The officer then advised he would break the window if she didn’t open the door, and Jewell then exited the van and was arrested.
During a tow inventory of the van, two firearms were discovered, including a Bersa .380-caliber pistol, which Jewell said was hers. Officers also located a vape device with a concentrated cannabis product and a clear plastic container with marijuana inside Jewell’s purse. She then advised that she does not have a medical marijuana card and that she had used marijuana within the last day.
Jewell failed a field sobriety test, and the officer reported he believed she was driving while impaired by cannabis. Jewell later submitted to a blood test, which was sent to an Arizona Department of Public Safety laboratory for analysis. A possible charge of DUI-drug is pending the result of the analysis.
Jewell was then transported to the jail and booked on her above-listed charges. She has a pretrial hearing set for May 15.
While the report listed the van was towed from the scene, it did not list any charges against the passenger.
