From WRIL -
On Friday, May 28, 2021, a short time after 5:00 pm, Middlesboro Police Officer Ryan Collins made a traffic stop on a 2006 white Buick at the intersection of 28th Street and Chester Avenue for a temporary tag issue after seeing the vehicle leave from a high drug trafficking area.
Upon on contact with the driver 30-year-old Shelbie Hoskins of Ewing, Virginia, it was discovered she had no driver's license, no insurance, and the temporary tag on the vehicle had been altered to look like it was in date, but upon further inspection, it had expired a few months ago.
The passenger, 33-year-old Ophadelia Daniels of Tazewell, Tennessee, was the owner of the vehicle. Officer Collins gained consent to search the car and the occupants. A search of Hoskins yielded a small blue bag of suspected Methamphetamine.
During a subsequent search of the vehicle, Officer Collins found the center console to be locked. Daniels stated that she never had it opened before and it didn’t work. The officer asked if he could try and Daniels said yes. He used the keys and opened it easily revealing a digital scale. Inside a cigarette pack in the console, a bag containing approximately 15 grams of suspected Methamphetamine was found.
No one claimed ownership of the drugs on scene so the driver and passenger were both charged due to them each having immediate access to the the area where the drugs were found. They were arrested and lodged in the Bell County Detention Center.
While both Hoskins and Daniels were charged with trafficking in controlled substance - 1st degree, 1st offense, greater than two grams (Methamphetamine), Hoskins was additionally charged with no operators license, failure to maintain insurance, and no registration plate.