Riverside man faces drug, traffic charges after erratic stop near Kalona

KALONA — A Riverside man faces multiple drug and traffic charges after authorities say he led deputies on a brief erratic drive, refused commands and was later found unconscious with methamphetamine inside a van during an early-morning stop in Washington County.

Joseph Moore, 40, of Riverside, was arrested following a traffic encounter shortly after midnight Dec. 27 along Highway 1 near Kalona. According to a criminal complaint filed with Iowa Courts, a Washington County sheriff’s deputy first noticed Moore’s vehicle because it lacked license plates.

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Deputy Nolan T. Burke wrote that he was “running stationary radar on Hwy 1 just north of Hwy 22 in Kalona” at about 12:27 a.m. when he observed “a silver van with no plates drive past me north bound.” As Burke pulled onto the highway, the van signaled to turn right despite there being “nothing but a ditch to the right,” then “swerved hard to the left,” prompting the deputy to activate emergency lights.

Instead of stopping immediately, the van “drove erratically for two blocks before turning and slamming the car into park,” the criminal complaint filed with Iowa Courts states. Burke said he issued repeated commands over a public-address system for the driver to roll down the window and show his hands, but the driver did not comply.

About 10 minutes later, officers approached the vehicle and found Moore as the only occupant, “passed out in the passenger seat,” according to the complaint. Deputies described Moore as “passively resistant,” with “slowed body movements and slurred slowed speech,” and appearing confused about his surroundings.

Burke reported that Moore refused repeated lawful orders to exit the vehicle and had to be removed by officers. Investigators later deployed a police K-9, which “showed a positive alert to the odor of narcotics coming from the van.”

Authorities said they found methamphetamine and part of a broken used meth pipe in and around the passenger seat area where Moore had been located. Burke wrote that Moore remained unconscious during transport to jail and exhibited physical signs often linked to meth use, including “smacking his lips” and having “a very dry mouth.”

Moore is charged with possession of a controlled substance, second offense; possession of drug paraphernalia; interference with official acts; failure to yield to an emergency vehicle; no driver’s license; failure to provide proof of financial liability; and operating a non-registered vehicle.

A preliminary hearing on the drug possession charge is scheduled for Jan. 7 at 11 a.m. Moore remains in the custody of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, subject to release on a $2,000 bond.

Comments: AnnaMarie.Kruse@southeastiowaunion.com