Traffic stop turns to arrest on gun, drug, gang charges

An Edinburgh man is facing drug and gun-related charges and is being accused of being a gang member after a weekend traffic stop in the Taylorsville area.

According to the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department, a deputy noticed a vehicle leave a gas station onto northbound U.S. 31 at about 11:50 p.m. Sunday evening. The driver failed to use a turn signal and headed onto Interstate 65, while the deputy followed. Deputies say the driver crossed the fog line and failed to maintain his lane.

Deputies stopped the vehicle and a department police dog was brought to the scene. The driver, 39-year-old David Riddle of Edinburgh admitted that he had methamphetamine and heroin in the vehicle. A search found four baggies and two loaded magazines from a pistol, but no guns.

Riddle was a convicted serious violent felon due to a previous domestic violence conviction and admitted to having weapons at his home, deputies say. He also admitted to being a member of the Hell Raisers gang.

After a search warrant was served at his home on Walnut Street in Edinburgh, deputies recovered narcotics, along with baggies, digital scales and a cutting agent used to increase the volume of the drugs. And the found two handguns, one reported stolen out of Shelby County.

Riddle was arrested on a long list of charges including possession of a handgun by a serious violent felon, unlawfully carrying a handgun, possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer, participation in a criminal organization, as well as for possessing stolen property, drugs, syringes, and drug paraphernalia.

Evidence photo courtesy of Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department.