TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — An Indianapolis woman will spend time in federal prison after she was caught with hundreds of grams of meth hidden in a cooler.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana says Varonique Lowe has been sentenced after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The charge comes after a September 29, 2021 traffic stop in Terre Haute. When the officer approached the vehicle, he smelled burned marijuana. There were also two children in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop.
After a K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics, police searched the vehicle. They found 768 grams of pure methamphetamine inside a cooler in the vehicle. The government’s sentencing memorandum said there was red Gatorade poured over the methamphetamine in an effort to disguise it.
Lowe told officers that she was bringing the methamphetamine from Indianapolis to sell to someone in Terre Haute. This was her third time selling at least a pound of methamphetamine to someone in Terre Haute in the last few months.
The sentencing memorandum said Lowe’s criminal history is voluminous. She has 10 prior felony and 21 misdemeanor convictions in California, including six convictions relating to the sale of controlled substances and assault with a deadly weapon.
While the government admits that her childhood was troubled, she was able to find gainful employment. The defense’s sentencing memorandum said this troubled childhood included a drug addicted mother and a murdered father.
The government said Lowe is not a methamphetamine user herself, indicating her drug convictions were based solely off distribution for profit.
Lowe was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. After her release, she will be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for five years.
Read More: Indianapolis methamphetamine trafficking federal sentence