Portage Man Arrested On Gun & Drug Charges Following Traffic Stop
On March 9th 2020 during a traffic stop by Portage Police on U.S. Hwy 6 for expired registration an officer smelled unburnt marijuana and observed the driver of the vehicle to be displaying nervous behavior. The driver stated that he didn’t have ID or proof of insurance but that his registration was in his pocket, according to reports. The officer asked the driver for his name and date of birth. The driver identified himself as Andre L. Hughes. The officer returned to his patrol car and ran the name which yielded no results. Upon approaching the vehicle again the officer asked Andre to step out of the vehicle to which he refused, but provided the officer with his full last name, Hughes-Anderson. At this point the officer noticed a loaded handgun magazine in the drivers side door. The officer ordered the driver to turn off his vehicle and step outside. The driver attempted to put his vehicle in drive while the a back up officer reached in through the passenger side and shut the vehicle off. After an unsuccessful attempt to restart the vehicle by the Anderson the officers attempted to remove him from his vehicle, while he clung to the steering wheel. Officers repeatedly told Anderson to stop resisting or he’d be tased, to which Anderson told officers “just kill me.” After multiple attempts to remove the driver one of the officers deployed his taser which allowed officers to remove him from the vehicle. Once out of the vehicle Anderson continued to resist but officers were able to detain him. Once handcuffed he was searched and officers found $419 cash, a plastic baggie with various pills in it and a black scale on his person. A search of his vehicle revealed a loaded .40 caliber handgun underneath the drivers seat. In the backseat two glass jars containing marijuana were discovered and in the pocket of the drivers side door a black plastic bag was found containing spent and live rounds in addition to the original loaded magazine observed by the initial officer on scene. Anderson was escorted to a patrol vehicle and upon noticing a Portage PD K-9 he began to resist and hyperventilate. Portage EMS was dispatched to assess his condition and determined no further medical care was needed.
Anderson was transported to Porter County Jail, where he is being held on multiple charges for –
Unlawful Possession of A Firearm
Firearm Within 500 Ft of a School
Maintaining a Common Nuisance
Resisting Law Enforcement
Possession of Hash / Salvia
Possession of Paraphernalia
Possession of Cocaine
Possession of a Controlled Substance
RNS Contributor – S. Gaffney
