VAN WERT — The Van Wert and Delphos Police departments and the Ohio State Highway Patrol teamed up last weekend to make a number of arrests and issue citations for drug and impaired driving offenses in the county. The program, tagged Operation Shield, resulted in five felony drug arrests, eleven impaired driving arrests, seven arrests for driving while under suspension, 14 misdemeanor drug arrests and several other criminal arrests. The operation was a two-day enforcement blitz intended to serve arrest warrants and remove illegal narcotics and impaired drivers from the roadways.
Investigators served five felony warrants netting additional arrests for possession and trafficking in drugs also. Arrested on drug-related warrants were Emily Lacy, Shane Seekings and Taylor Agler (drug trafficking), Jason Vanover (heroin possession), and Jared Caldwell (heroin possession, marijuana trafficking).
In all, Operation Shield Officers made a total of 301 traffic stops, writing 123 traffic citations, making 17 seat belt arrests, and issuing 139 warnings.
The Highway Patrol’s mission is focused on “contributing to a safer Ohio.” In conjunction with that mission, the patrol has joined with area police departments in removing drugs and impaired drivers from area roadways. This joint effort helped to multiply the number of officers available to work and focus on illegal activities as well as aggressive and impaired driving. The additional officers included investigators, detectives, drug-sniffing dogs, and criminal patrol officers from the OSHP’s Findlay District and Van Wert Post working alongside and riding with police officers from the Van Wert Police Department and the Delphos Police Department. The agencies involved included officers from the OSHP’s Findlay District Headquarters, OSHP Criminal Patrol Team.