Laurel traffic stop leads to felony drug arrest with seven outstanding warrants
LAUREL, Del. – On 6/18/24 at approximately 12:25pm, a Laurel Police Department officer on patrol conducted a traffic stop on a blue Ford Escape in the area of Sussex Highway and Discount Land Road. The officer stopped the vehicle after the vehicle’s registration was found to be flagged with multiple active warrants issued for the registered owner.
The officer made contact with the driver, who was the registered owner of the vehicle. The driver was identified as Stephanie L James (37) of Wilmington, DE. Additional checks of the driver’s license and wanted status revealed she had a suspended driver’s license, and active warrants issued by the Wilmington Police Department, Newport Alderman Court 42, Justice of the Peace Court 20, and three issued by the New Castle County Court of Common Pleas. The oldest of the warrants was issued in 2022.
During the course of the investigation, the driver was found to be in possession of crack cocaine, multiple ecstasy tablets, and drug paraphernalia.
James was transported to the Laurel Police Department for processing, where she was charged with the following crimes:
-Possession with Intent to Distribute Crack Cocaine (Class D Felony)
-Possession with Intent to Distribute Ecstasy/MDMA (Class D Felony)
-Possession of Controlled Substance x2 (Class B Misdemeanor)
-Possession of Drug Paraphernalia x2 (Class B Misdemeanor)
-Driving While License Suspended/Revoked (Misdemeanor)
She was arraigned for the Laurel PD charges by the Justice of the Peace Court 2, and released on $20,900 unsecured bail. In addition to the bail set for the new charges, she was issued unsecured or “own recognizance” bonds for all but three of the remaining warrants, which resulted in James being held by the Department of Correction.
