An obscene gesture directed towards an officer in an unmarked vehicle led to a Safford woman being arrested on drug charges Friday, June 4.

An Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) officer arrested Barbara A. Hill, 21, on charges of possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana for sale, transportation of marijuana for sale, possession of a dangerous drug and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The arresting officer, DPS officer Lance Shupe, said he was getting ready to go home when the incident occurred.

“It’s hilarious,” Shupe said. “It was about 3:30. I was trying to go home. They totally brought it on themselves. I wasn’t even looking for them.”

The officer was driving west on Hwy. 70 from the San Jose area when he encountered the vehicle Hill was driving. He said he tried to pass the vehicle, but Hill would not let him.

“Then, when I passed her, then they decided to get right on me, and when I was turning into my office they honked the horn and gave me the one-finger salute,” Shupe said.

The officer made contact with Hill after she pulled her vehicle into the parking lot of the Circle K east of Safford, near the DPS office.

He said he smelled burned marijuana and conducted a search of the vehicle. He reportedly found three ounces of marijuana — some packaged for sale — a small quantity of methamphetamine and packing material for the meth and pipes.

Shupe said the only thing Hill said about the incident was that she was unaware he was an officer.

“So it’s OK to do it to the public, but if you’re a police officer, sorry,” Shupe said, laughing.

Other passengers in the vehicle with Hill were not arrested.

Because her license was suspended prior to this incident, it is possible she may face an additional charge of driving on a suspended license

Hill had her license suspended June 3, after being found guilty on charges of failure to provide proof of financial responsibility and speed greater than reasonable or prudent, from an incident on March 28.

Hill is also supposed to begin making payments June 28 for charges stemming from a March 8 incident, when she was charged with reckless driving, speed greater than reasonable or prudent, failure to provide proof of financial responsibility and failure to use her turn signal. She was found guilty on the charges, fined $385 and placed on unsupervised probation for one year.

Hill is also paying off the $475 fine she received June 12, 2003, for a May 1, 2003, failure to provide proof of financial responsibility citation.

Story courtesty of Greg Jones and Eastern Arizona Courier