Three-year expired tags lead to vehicle stop in Bakersfield, meth and pipe found

Brian Mottus, 44, of Bakersfield, and Amy Poyner, 35, of Bay, Arkansas, are charged with possession of methamphetamine and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia in connection with a July 28 vehicle stop in Bakersfield. They are scheduled to appear before Associate Judge Raymond Gross at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 15 for a bond reduction hearing. Mottus is currently in custody at the Ozark County Jail. Poyner was arrested and released July 31. 

According to the probable cause statement filed by Ozark County Deputy Josh Sherman, at 5:30 p.m. the officer was at the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department when he observed a black truck drive into the parking lot at Evans Kwik Stop in Bakersfield where Sherman noticed that the registration on the vehicle expired in 2020. 

The vehicle had two occupants, a man driving and a woman riding as a passenger. The driver identified himself as Brian Mottus, the report says. The woman identified herself as Amy Poyner. 

Sherman placed Mottus under arrest for operating a vehicle without a valid license and on an active warrant from another jurisdiction. 

Both parties consented to a search of the vehicle, the report says, and the officer found a black bag located in the back area of the vehicle that contained a glass smoking pipe that had a white crystal-like substance along with a small white bag with a white crystal-like substance and a yellow bag with a similar substance. Sherman said from his prior training and experience, he recognized the substance as methamphetamine. 

A later log shows that the evidence collected included 1 gram of meth in the white bag and 3 grams of meth in the yellow bag. 

Both parties denied possession of the items, so they were both arrested and transported back to the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department for booking.