Traffic Stop Nets Dealing Cocaine Charge
On Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at approximately 4:16 PM, a La Porte County Sheriff deputy was working the Domestic Highway Enforcement (DHE) program along the Indiana Toll Road (I-80/90). In the area of the 54-mile marker, the deputy began to travel near a passenger vehicle being operated in the driving lane. The deputy paced the speed of the passenger vehicle and noted it was traveling in excess of the speed limit.
A traffic stop was conducted by the deputy near the 55-miles marker. The driver (lone occupant) was identified as Quentin A. Cooper, 45, of Chicago, Illinois.
As the traffic stop progressed, circumstances within the passenger compartment caused a vehicle search to commence. During the search with another deputy now present, a large quantity of a narcotic was discovered.
Cooper was taken into custody and transported to the La Porte County Jail (LCJ). He was arrested for Dealing in Cocaine, a Level 2 Felony. Cooper remains housed in the LCJ and is being held on a $50,005 cash-only bond through Superior Court I.
DHE is a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program / initiative. DHE is designed to disrupt the flow of drugs and weapons moving domestically. DHE, funded by federal monies and administered by Indiana HIDTA, allows additional trained deputies to work criminal interdiction enforcement.
Arrests and criminal charges are mere accusations. Every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
