A habitual traffic violator was arrested after she was stopped for driving recklessly and police noticed she had tampered with an official document.
Talesha Tapphone Battle, 33, 1807 Meyer St., Greenwood, was arrested on charges of operating a vehicle while being a habitual traffic violator and counterfeiting, both felonies.
A Greenwood police officer observed Battle’s car swerving in and out of lanes on U.S. 31, nearly causing an accident, about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to a Greenwood Police Department report. When police ran her license plate, the registration showed Battle was labeled a habitual traffic violator by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles due to a speeding ticket she received in April, the police report said.
The officer pulled Battle over at U.S. 31 and Madison Avenue in Greenwood. Battle told police she had court documentation that allows her to drive in special circumstances, according to the report.
The court document she provided said Battle could travel within Hamilton County and the surrounding counties, from her home in Noblesville to her job in Carmel and back. The officer noted that the documentation was not valid in Johnson County as it is not one of the surrounding counties, and Battle’s current residence was listed in Greenwood, not Noblesville, the report said.
Upon further review of the second page of Battle’s court document, the officer noticed the document appeared to have been tampered with; the bottom line that stated how long these driving privileges lasted appeared to be changed; "2019," written with an ink pen, replaced "2018," according to the report.
The officer arrested Battle, who told police she had no knowledge of the document being tampered with.
She was taken to the Johnson County jail and released on $8,000 bond.
