Traffic Stop Nets Half-Pound of Suspected Meth, Three Arrested in Grand Traverse County

A routine traffic stop in Garfield Township escalated into a multi-location drug investigation after Michigan State Police troopers from the Traverse City Post pulled over a vehicle on W. Airport Road near Linden Avenue at 4:20 p.m. March 12, ultimately seizing more than half a pound of suspected methamphetamine and sending three people to the Grand Traverse County Jail.

The driver, April Grose, 48, of Traverse City, was found in possession of methamphetamine at the time of the stop. Investigators then executed multiple search warrants that produced the larger haul: more than half a pound of suspected methamphetamine and 4 grams of heroin. Two additional suspects were identified in the course of that follow-up investigation: Gary Gustafson, 62, of Grawn, and Hope Sowers, 54, of Fife Lake.

All three were arraigned March 17 in the 86th District Court in Grand Traverse County. Grose faces one count of possession of methamphetamine. Gustafson and Sowers each face one count of delivery or manufacture of methamphetamine, a more serious charge that reflects investigators' conclusion that the drugs were not solely for personal use. The trio was scheduled to appear together in Grand Traverse County court at 2 p.m. March 31.

Troopers received assistance on the case from the Seventh District Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division and the Michigan Department of Corrections, agencies whose involvement points to the coordinated, multi-agency approach increasingly used to trace drug supply chains beyond a single traffic stop.

All three suspects are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.