Woman’s driving was an attention getter for LPD

‘Her SUV was directly in front of my current lane of travel’- Officer Aidyn Fudala

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF)- It was routine patrol for La Follette Police Officer Aidyn Fudala in the wee hours of Friday morning. The officer was traveling east toward La Follette on the four lane passing Campbell High when he came upon a vehicle ahead of him, both vehicles in the left lane.

Since the green 2012 Subaru Forrester, with Tennessee plates, was directly in front of Fudala’s cruiser, he began to observe the compact crossover SUV.

Over the course of the next mile, the Subaru allegedly crossed the center yellow line with the driver side tires on three separate occasions and crossed the dotted white line on one occasion with the passenger tires all the while swerving within the lane of travel, according to the LPD report. Given the traffic infractions, the officer conducted a traffic stop in front of JR’s Tires at 811 Jacksboro Pike.

During Officer Fudala’s initial contact with the driver, identified as Sheila Crites, she allegedly showed signs of impairment. The officer details in his police report that Crites allegedly had slurred speech, glassy-watery eyes and pupils that did not appear to react to stimulation. Crites gave consent to perform a field sobriety test.

LPD Sgt. Anthony Mahar asked Crites if she would consent to the field sobriety test, and, again, she consented. Sgt. Mahar administered the test on which Crites did not perform well.

Officer Fudala placed Crites in custody and placed her the back of police Unit 014. With the arrest of Crites, her Subaru needed to be towed from the side of Jacksboro Pike.

While Sgt. Mahar began filling out a vehicle inventory for the tow receipt, he noticed what appeared to be a wallet located in a purse. In an attempt to document the amount of currency in the SUV, the sergeant discovered a clear glass pipe with burns and a crystal-like substance inside along with a red and green short straw with crystal-like residue inside, according to the police report.

Due to the discovery of the drug paraphernalia, a vehicle search was conducted prior to towing. Within the same wallet where the drug paraphernalia was located, eight small, clear plastic baggies were allegedly located. A black digital scale was allegedly found.

Of the eight baggies, three had a crystal-like residue, one had a crystal-like substance and the other four had no visual residue, based on the police report.

Sheila Jan Crites, 65, of Kettering, Ohio, was charged with DUI, violation of the implied consent law, schedule II possession with intent, manufacture, delivery and sell, violation of the lane law and failure to exercise due care. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-10/30/2025-6AM)