Braidwood police arrest 2 on drug charges

Two Braidwood residents were arrested after officers found them carrying painkiller pills, police said.

On Monday, Tiffany L. Holt, 28, and Daniel P. Wipfler, 29, both of Braidwood, were arrested and taken to the Will County jail on charges of possession of a controlled substance.

Holt and Wipfler were in the same car that was pulled over in a traffic stop, Braidwood Deputy Police Chief Steve Finlon said.

He said that when police initiated a traffic stop, they reportedly saw movements and activities that “led them to be suspicious of criminal activity.”

“There were developments that led to the vehicle being searched,” Finlon said.

During a search of the car and its two occupants, he said, officers found the pair in possession of Norco pills, an opioid medication that contains acetaminophen and hydrocodone.

Holt and Wipfler were arrested without incident, Finlon said.

During a court hearing Monday, Holt and Wipfler were appointed Will County public defenders. Holt’s bond was set at $10,000, and Wipfler’s bond was set at $15,000.

Braidwood police have been cracking down on heroin and prescription opioid abuse.

In August, a 12-officer team of Braidwood and Drug Enforcement Administration officials arrested four suspects on warrants for delivery of controlled substances.

The drugs involved in the arrests included Ecstasy, prescription pills, meth, fentanyl, powder cocaine, crack, opioids and benzodiazepines.

“We’re working off an old theory,” Braidwood Police Chief Nick Ficarello said. “If you decrease the amount of narcotic trafficking and ultimately decrease the amount of addiction, your crime rate will lower.”

Ficarello has said heroin and prescription opioids are the area’s biggest problems. He said cocaine and crystal meth follow.

In April, Braidwood police raided a residence to arrest several people who were charged with possession of heroin with intent to deliver.

Braidwood police and the DEA also partnered on that case.