Three people were arrested at a local motel over the weekend following a report of an unresponsive female, which prompted further inquiry by officers with the Hillsboro Police Department.

According to information provided by the HPD, Michael Lawson, 34, Hillsboro, was arrested on a parole warrant and Justin Denise, 28, Hillsboro, and Melissa Trace, 42, Wilmington, were each arrested for possession of a drug abuse instrument.

A police department spokesperson says that the department was called to the Paragon Inn in Hillsboro on March 25 because of a female in a car who appeared to be unconscious. Upon officers’ arrival the female was located, but awoke and appeared to be OK when officers knocked on the vehicle’s window. She left the vehicle and entered a room at the inn.

Officers spoke to the person who had initially made the complaint and were told there had been “a lot of traffic” in and out of the room and the individual was concerned about possible drug activity therein, which prompted officers to investigate further, the police department said.

Two males and one female were located in the room, the press release says, with one of the males attempting “to flush what is believed to be heroin down the toilet.” The police department was able to retrieve the evidence before it was destroyed, the statement says. A search warrant was obtained and the subsequent search of the room turned up drug abuse paraphernalia, drug abuse instruments, prescription drugs, marijuana, and suspected heroin and methamphetamine “packaged for distribution.”

According to the police department, felony charges are pending a Bureau of Criminal Investigation analysis of the items seized and a review of the case by Highland County Prosecutor’s Office.

Reach Angela Shepherd at 937-393-3456, ext. 1681, or on Twitter @wordyshepherd.