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By Dawn Burleigh

Tonya Sue Nichols, 49, of Orange was indicted by the Jefferson County Grand Jury on Wednesday for unauthorized use of a vehicle, a state jail felony, for an incident which occurred on February 6, 2020 in Hamshire, Texas.

An officer stopped to speak with three individuals near a vehicle parked but partially in the roadway.

A woman in the driver’s seat was asked who the truck belonged to and she stated it belonged to her boyfriend in Lake Charles.

She added she had taken the vehicle following an argument with him a week earlier. Dispatch confirmed the truck was reported stolen and there were two warrants for Nichols.

Nichols told the officer, according to an affidavit for arrest warrant, that the other two persons were unaware the vehicle was stolen and that there were narcotics in the truck as well as syringes.

The officer located the 3.3 grams of methamphetamine and two syringes and a glass pipe used to smoke methamphetamine.

Nichols was arrested without incident.

Indictment is not be considered as evidence of guilt and that all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.