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COOPER |
A semi tractor-trailer driver from Michigan was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, possession of drugs and improper handling of a firearm in a motor vehicle during a traffic stop on U.S. Route 33 near County Road 94.
Deputies of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office report Matthew Cooper, 48, of Taylor, Mich., was observed operating a westbound semi erratically on U.S. 33 near County Road 195 about 10:30 a.m. and a traffic stop was initiated soon thereafter.
The defendant told deputies that his driving behavior was a result of him eating and being tired after being awake since midnight. Deputies observed that his speech was slurred, and he later admitted to taking suboxone around midnight after he woke up. He was administered field sobriety tests.
Cooper also told deputies that there was a firearm in his vehicle, and deputies recovered an unloaded Ruger handgun with a full magazine inside a black case behind the passenger seat.
A search of the vehicle also recovered several medications that he had prescriptions for, but also an unmarked pill bottle with five pills of alprazolam and a joint of marijuana.
He submitted to a blood draw at Mary Rutan Hospital, with test results pending, and then was transported to the Logan County Jail.
Hit-skip crash investigated
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