Rock Hill mom with child in car arrested on methadone charge in traffic stop

A woman had her 1-year-old child in the car with her when she was jailed on drug charged during a traffic stop Tuesday, according to Rock Hill Police.

Officers pulled a vehicle over on Eden Terrace about 4 p.m. for an inoperable brake light. After providing officers with her documentation, the driver, Michelle Princehorn, 40, appeared “very nervous” and had shaking hands, according to a police report. Princehorn said there was nothing illegal in the vehicle when officers asked her.

Princehorn was asked to get out of the car and empty her pockets, police said. She took a cigarette lighter from her pocket and said that was the only item she had, but an officer saw a bulge in her pocket. That bulge turned out to be an empty metal container.

Officers noticed another bulge in Princehorn’s other pocket and she said it was a small pink container, the report states. She told them it contained methadone pills, which she took from someone else’s pill container. The pills weighed 1.78 grams all together.

On Friday, Princehorn said the pills belonged to her girlfriend. They were both in a car crash several years ago and have chronic back pain. Princehorn also broke her pelvis in the wreck. Princehorn said they both have methadone prescriptions.

“I tried to take different medicine for years, but methadone is the only thing that works,” Princehorn said. “If you take methadone daily you don’t get high on it. I’m able to operate a car and drive safely with my child.”

Princehorn called her girlfriend of 13 years to come take custody of her son and vehicle.

Police charged Princehorn with possession with intent to distribute methadone, according to the report. She was placed in the Rock Hill city jail, and released Wednesday after posting $3,000 bond.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Rock Hill mom with child in car arrested on methadone charge in traffic stop."