The face was cute. The picture was ugly.
On Monday, police in Springfield Township, Ohio, came across a raccoon holding a meth pipe after a traffic stop.
“Springfield Township Police Officer Austin Branham, conducted a traffic stop on South Arlington Road after identifying a vehicle whose registered owner had an active warrant and a suspended driver’s license,” according to a Facebook post from the Springfield Township Police Department.
Victoria Vidal, 55, of Akron, was detained during the stop.
“However, things took an unusual turn,” the post said.
“As Officer Branham returned to the vehicle, he observed a raccoon named ‘Chewy’ sitting in the driver’s seat with a meth pipe in its mouth. Chewy had somehow gotten hold of a glass methamphetamine pipe, leading officers to further inspect the vehicle,” the post said.
Police find pet raccoon holding meth pipe during traffic stop 😡 stupid humans .
Source KY3 pic.twitter.com/wLutLIuKBB— mandala (@mandala_mandy) May 6, 2025
Police found crack cocaine, what the post called a “bulk” amount of methamphetamine and three used glass meth pipes.
Should it be legal to keep a raccoon as a pet?
Vidal was charged with” F3 possession of drugs, three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, and was cited for driving under suspension,” the release said, and she was “turned over to Cuyahoga Falls Police on her active warrant.”
Additional charges related to the cocaine will be presented to a grand jury
The post said officials are trying to determine whether Vidal has the proper credentials to own the animal.
“While our officers are trained to expect the unexpected, finding a raccoon holding a meth pipe is a first! No raccoons were hurt or injured in this incident,” the post said.
“On Arlington, we see some interesting things, but seeing a raccoon holding some drug paraphernalia was a very interesting part of my day,” Officer Austin Branham said during the news conference, according to the Akron Beacon-Journal.
The animal was released to Vidal’s mother after Vidal’s father arranged for transportation.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has been called in to determine whether the raccoon should be released to Vidal or re-homed.
Branham noted Vidal was living in her car and in a residence.
“It’s very sad to see someone in that condition with that addiction that is battling that every day,” Branham said. “We want to make sure that obviously the raccoon gets help, but she is able to get the paperwork that she may not be able to obtain or afford because of her current situation.”
Branham said he does not believe Chewy ingested any meth, which was packed in a sunglass case.
“There was no indication that he made it inside of that case and the pipes themselves did not have any residue inside of them, just the burned amount that was on the outside of them,” Branham said. “There was no inherent risk for Chewy to have exposure.”
Wildlife officer Zach Hillman said the state will look at what is best for the raccoon.
“If it’s a captive raccoon, we are going to try to re-house it, which is most likely what will happen. We have protocols, and we are going to find the best available option for the animal,” Hillman said.
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