By Pat Culverhouse

Driving on a sidewalk is sure to arouse suspicions, especially when it’s done in sight of a police officer, and a Ruston woman is now facing a number of charges due to her choice of routes.

According to police incident reports, a Minden police officer observed 40-year-old Morgan Allison Teekel operating her vehicle on a sidewalk and nearly striking a pole at the intersection of LA Hwy. 159 and McArthur Dr. just before 7 p.m. Saturday.

After the vehicle was stopped, a Louisiana State Trooper was called to the scene to investigate and reportedly found the suspect displaying slurred speech and other signs of possible impairment. She reportedly performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests.

A child passenger in the vehicle reportedly told officers his mother had handed him a pill bottle as the vehicle was being stopped. When officers retrieved the bottle, they reportedly found it contained a variety of narcotics.

Following a routine information check, officers reportedly learned Teekel had a previous arrest and conviction for DWI first offense in Bienville Parish.

Teekel reportedly is charged with DWI second offense with child endangerment, possession of CDS Sch. I, possession of CDS Sch. III, possession of CDS Sch. IV, illegal possession of a CDS in the presence of a minor and careless operation of a vehicle.

Teekel is currently being held in the Webster Parish jail under $10,501 bond.

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.