Irene Marks, 18, was arrested around 8:30 a.m. Friday for possessing a handgun without a license, possession of marijuana and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.
Operating a vehicle while intoxicated and the possession of marijuana are level A and B misdemeanors, respectively. Marks’ possession of a handgun without a license is a level 5 felony because of her proximity to Binford and Rogers Elementary Schools, Sgt. Dana Cole said.
Around 8:05 a.m. Friday, Bloomington Police Department officers were dispatched to the intersection of Kinser Pike and the Bypass in regards to an erratic driver who was possibly operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs, Cole said. The complainant who made the call provided officers with a vehicle description and a license plate number.
Officers located the vehicle as it pulled in a parking lot behind McAlister’s Deli on 2510 E. Third St. As officers talked to Marks, the BPD dispatchers received a call from a woman who was across the street at the IU Credit Union. She told dispatchers she saw someone throw a handgun out the window of the vehicle.
Marks admitted to owning the handgun and throwing it out the window because she knew she didn’t have a license for it and didn’t want to be caught with it. She told officers she was on several prescription pain medications but didn’t have any with her at the time. Officers did find a small amount of marijuana on her person.
Marks was taken to the IU Health Bloomington Hospital to have her blood drawn.
There was a male passenger in the vehicle who complied with the officers and said Marks knew she didn’t have a permit so she threw the handgun out of the vehicle in fear of getting caught with it. He was released without charges.
Andy Wittry
