Hunter
07/20/21
An Iowa woman arrested for her first OWI faces more serious charges after allegedly concealing cocaine on her person when being booked into the Johnson County Jail.
Police stopped 54-year-old Debbie Broom of Newton Monday afternoon around 3:50 as she was traveling on Interstate 80 at the 251 mile marker. She had been called in to troopers as a reportedly reckless driver. The reporting party told authorities that they saw Broom’s Chevy Malibu go into the ditch and strike a guardrail.
Upon contact, she showed measurable signs of impairment on field testing. She consented to a PBT which showed her blood-alcohol level within the legal limit, and refused a subsequent Datamaster reading. Officers on scene reportedly discovered a small amount of green leafy substance consistent with marijuana, as well as several pipes with residue in them.
Broom was charged with her first OWI, a serious misdemeanor.
While at the Johnson County Jail, deputies discovered Broom was concealing in her person a white rock which presumptively tested positive for cocaine. A check of her arrest record showed at least three prior possession convictions. Broom now faces an additional charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance, 3rd or Subsequent, and could be sentenced to a total of six years in prison if convicted on both counts.