Traffic stop near Cloverdale more than a lucky strike as 109 cartons of cigarettes seized

CLOVERDALE -- A routine traffic stop on Interstate 70 in Putnam County Friday afternoon resulted in the arrest of two Pennsylvania men and seizure of 109 cartons of cigarettes without Indiana tax stamps, Indiana State Police at Putnamville reported.

Some of the 109 cartons of cigarettes confiscated from two Pennsylvania men Friday afternoon after a traffic stop on Interstate 70 near Cloverdale. State Police photo

The stop came at 2:45 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of I-70 when a trooper from the Putnamville Post pulled over a 2003 Nissan Maxima for following other vehicles too closely near the 40-mile marker, a mile west of Cloverdale.

During the traffic stop conversations with the two occupants led the trooper to become suspicious of possible criminal activity.

A subsequent search of the vehicle yielded 109 cartons of cigarettes without Indiana tax stamps in the trunk area. All items were seized.

The driver, Donovan Jackson, 18, of Ruffsdale, Pa., and his 55-year-old passenger, Frank E. Spillar of Mount Pleasant, Pa., were taken into custody and transported to the Putnam County Jail.

The men were traveling from Missouri to Pennsylvania, State Police said.

Both men were preliminarily charged with one count each of tobacco tax violation, a Class A misdemeanor.

Under Indiana law, person(s) are only allowed to possess no more than 1,500 cigarettes without the required tax stamps.