Lower Burrell police accused a woman who had a warrant out for her arrest of dealing drugs after she was pulled over for a traffic violation and offered to let police search her vehicle.

Michelle Lynn Dzugan, 45, of the 1500 block of Horne Boulevard in Arnold was charged with a felony count of possession of drugs with the intent to deliver, and counts of drug and paraphernalia possession. She also was issued two traffic citations.

She was released from the Westmoreland County jail on a $10,000 unsecured bond. She was ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing before District Judge Cheryl Peck Yakopec on Dec. 5.

A police officer monitoring traffic Oct. 26 at Route 56 and Falcon Park Road saw a Chevy Equinox “braking rapidly” to get into the turning lane for Craigdell Road, according to a criminal complaint.

The officer got behind the SUV on Leechburg Road and pulled it over near Morgan Street after seeing it drift out of its lane for about 150 feet and switch lanes without using a signal, the complaint said.

Police said Dzugan told them she was dropping off a pack of cigarettes to a friend on Morgan Street. Investigators said they are known drug users, according to the complaint.

The officer became suspicious after she changed her story about where she was traveling to and from, and said she stopped to meet her boyfriend at the 7-Eleven at the intersection of Leechburg and Tarentum Bridge roads, according to the complaint.

Police said another patrol officer who heard the radio dispatch about the SUV after it was first spotted saw it drive past the convenience store, but it didn’t stop.

Dzugan was taken into custody for a bench warrant issued by the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Office. The complaint did not state why the warrant was issued.

When asked whether she had anything illegal in the vehicle, Dzugan told the officer she did not and said: “You can search it.”

She nodded and said yes when the officer again asked for her permission to search the SUV, the complaint said.

Police found crumbs of crack cocaine on the driver’s seat and 10 crack pipes inside a backpack on the rear seat, according to the complaint. Another crack pipe was found in a cigarette box, police said.

When Dzugan was placed in the back of a police cruiser, she told the officer, “I have a few things in my bra,” the complaint said.

Police said Dzugan had three small containers with 1 gram of crack in each and a baggie with 8 grams inside. Seven Suboxone strips were found in her wallet when her belongings were inventoried at the police station, the complaint said.

Suboxone is a brand name for the prescription drug buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid addiction. It is a controlled substance.

In 2019, Dzugan pleaded guilty to a felony count of escape and counts of drug possession and resisting arrest filed by Arnold police. She was sentenced to eight to 23 months in jail, court records show.

Dzugan pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor drug charges in 2017 filed by Arnold police; she was sentenced to three months to a year in jail, according to court records.

In 2015, Dzugan pleaded guilty to access device fraud and theft filed by New Kensington police and was sentenced to a year of probation, court records show.

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