W’burg woman found with 36 grams of suspected meth at detention center

A Williamsburg woman was found with about 36 grams (1.27 ounces) of suspected methamphetamine while being booked into the Whitley County Detention Center shortly after midnight on New Year’s Day, according to a Williamsburg Police Department release.

Williamsburg Police Officer Angie Vanover charged Cara Elaine Lawson, 33, of Forest Avenue, with first-degree promoting contraband, first-degree possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine), and first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance (methamphetamine) in connection to the incident at the jail.

Prior to this, Vanover arrested Lawson on charges of fourth-degree assault (domestic violence) and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Lawson was originally arrested by Williamsburg police officers following a domestic violence call in the Highland Park community in Williamsburg, according to the release.

About 12:30 a.m., Williamsburg police received a call from Whitley County E-911 regarding a verbal dispute in a vehicle on Lindenberg Drive and Forest Avenue, according to an arrest citation.

Police found seven needles and a digital scale inside the vehicle, and a hypodermic needle in Lawson’s pants, according to an arrest citation.

Lawson was charged about 1:30 a.m. on the drug and contraband charges.

According to another arrest citation, Lawson was sitting on a bench inside the jail when she asked to go to the bathroom. A deputy jailer observed Lawson attempting to remove the suspected methamphetamine from her person, and Lawson gave the suspected methamphetamine to the deputy jailer, Vanover wrote in the second citation.

Williamsburg Police Officer Trevor Teague, K-9 Lt. Jim Pool and K-9 Nitro assisted with the investigation.