Staff writer

PETERSBURG-A suspect in custody at the Pike County Jail was taken to a Vincennes hospital Wednesday morning, where he later died after reportedly swallowing an unknown quantity of methamphetamine.

Shane Crume, 22, of Petersburg, was pronounced dead at Good Samaritan Hospital, in Vincennes, after being taken there following his arrest in Pike County.

In a news release, Pike County Sheriff Todd Meadors said Crume and his girlfriend, Jana Poppelwell, 20, of Princeton, were arrested after the vehicle in which they were traveling was stopped at about 2:14 a.m. on Ind. 56, near Bowman. As he was being processed at the Pike County Jail, Crume started to become ill, Meadors said, and was immediately taken to the hospital,

Meadors said Poppelwell told police during an interview that Crume had swallowed about 2 grams or more of meth as deputies were stopping their vehicle. An autopsy on Crume's body was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, but its results were not available as of Wednesday night.

Pike County Sheriff's Deputy Brad Jenkins had stopped Crume's 1994 Buick LeSabre after receiving information from the Indiana State Police about a similar vehicle possibly bringing drugs into Pike County. Jenkins stopped the car after he said it kept swerving left of center on Ind. 56, police said, and inside were Crume, Poppelwell, Crume's 13-year-old sister and his 3-year-old daughter.

After discovering that neither Crume or Poppelwell had a valid driver's license, deputies searched the car and said they found a glass pipe with burnt residue inside it under the passenger seat. While searching Crume, an undisclosed amount of meth was found in his front pants pocket, police said.

Poppelwell was arrested and charged with possession of paraphernalia, a class A misdemeanor, she was released on a $500 cash bond.

Crume was also arrested, charged with possession of meth and taken to the Pike County Jail, where he fell ill at about 3:30 a.m. as he was being booked.

He was taken by ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Crume's 3-year-old daughter was placed in the custody of The Division of Family and Children.

The information that led police to Crume and Poppelwell may have originated with another arrest late Tuesday night in Gibson County - in which the suspect may have narrowly escaped a similar fate as that suffered by Crume.

Francisco Town Marshal Vance Lloyd said Michael L. Gibson, 22, of Princeton, was arrested during a traffic stop on Ind. 64 after he spit out a bag that police said contained a substance that later tested positive for meth.

Gibson was a passenger in the car, which was stopped for speeding by Francisco Police Officer T.J. Maier, assisted by Lloyd and Deputy Marshal Brent Wethington.

Francisco officers called Oakland City Police Officer Tim Gaines and his K-9 partner Tess to the scene, and the dog indicated the possible presence of narcotics as she sniffed the vehicle, according to charging information.

Once Gibson was out of the car, Lloyd asked if he had anything in his mouth and Gibson spit out a small plastic baggy containing the substance that later turned out to be meth, police said.

Gibson was arrested and charged with possession of meth. He was taken to the Gibson County Jail where he remained Wednesday night in lieu of $750 cash bond.

In a statement released Wednesday afternoon, Lloyd said information police garnered during the investigation surrounding Gibson's arrest was passed on to the ISP and Pike County authorities, leading to the arrest of Crume and Poppelwell.

&#8220The death of Shawn Crume is tragic and is evidence of our serious methamphetamine problem in Southwest Indiana," Lloyd said.

Lloyd said no further comments would made because charges may follow against others suspects. The case remains under investigation.