This falls in the category of if they weren’t so stupid we’d never catch them.  A police officer stopped a car because it didn’t have its headlights on after dark.  The officer made contact with the driver a 73 year old man, probably obtained identification and returned to the patrol car to get on the computer.  

The officer completed his check and returned to the violator’s vehicle.  His intent was to let the driver go with a verbal warning.  As he returned to the car, he observed that the driver was snorting cocaine.  The officer recovered a quantity of cocaine and the driver went to jail.

A Traffic Stop may start out as a simple violation of the traffic laws.  What cops understand is that everybody has to get from point A to point B. Public transportation is not the preferred mode of travel after one has robbed a bank, chopped the mother-in-law into pieces and now must dispose of the remains, or carrying a TV just stolen in a burglary.  The family car, on the other hand, is perfectly suited for such chores.  Who can blame a guy for being distracted while engaged in such nefarious pursuits?

Something to keep in mind next time you get stopped.  You never know it could be because you were ten miles an hour over the speed limit or because a vehicle matching the description of the one you are driving was used in a crime.