By Pat Culverhouse

A Louisiana State Police trooper and a Minden Police Dept. K-9 teamed to sniff out a stash of illegal narcotics during a traffic stop on Interstate 20 Friday afternoon, and a Monroe woman is now behind bars as a result.

LSP Trooper Jacob Winiarski reportedly answered a call to I-20 around 3:30 p.m. Friday concerning a vehicle pulling a trailer which had lost several appliances on the roadway in Bienville Parish.

After stopping the vehicle in Webster Parish, the trooper reportedly observed the driver, 50-year-old Jennifer Manning Zuber, acting suspiciously during questioning about the unsecured load.

According to the incident report, the driver denied the presence of anything illegal inside the vehicle, but refused the trooper’s request to conduct a search. At that time, Minden PD Lt. Brandon Curry and his K9 partner Brams were dispatched to the scene to assist.

When the K9 responded positively to the possible presence of narcotics, Trooper Winiarski reportedly searched the vehicle and found a glass smoking device and approximately 28.59 grams of methamphetamines in a zip-loc bag inside the suspect’s purse.

Zuber reportedly admitted ownership of the drugs and the smoking device during booking at Bayou Dorcheat Correctional Center.

She is charged with possession of CDS Sch. II (methamphetamines), possession of CDS in the presence of a juvenile and possession of drug paraphernalia in addition to the traffic offense of traveling with an unsecured load. Her total bond has been set at $30,000.

This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.