MAGNA, Utah, Sept. 26, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Gang Unit of the Salt Lake City Police Department has arrested an 18-year-old man and seized firearms, drugs and cash.
Officers arrested Jovanny Valdiviez on Wednesday of last week, the department said in a news release issued Tuesday. The arrest was part of a larger, ongoing investigation.
“The SLCPD SWAT Team, on behalf of the Gang Unit, executed a court-authorized search warrant at a residence near the Copper Club Golf Course in Magna,” the SLCPD statement says. “During the search, SLCPD gang detectives and officers seized three handguns, a shotgun, and a rifle.”
Officers arrested Jovanny Valdiviez and booked him into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail for investigation of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, both third-degree felonies.
As in all cases, the District Attorney’s Office will review the case and determine any charges.
“While investigating a large-scale THC drug distribution case, it was discovered that (Valdiviez) was provided distributable THC cartridges by the source being investigated,” arrest documents say. Valdiviez “was then redistributing the THC cartridges and other THC substances over social media and posting with a firearm.”
Valdiviez is the ninth person arrested connected to this ongoing investigation, the SLCPD statement says.
“The alleged criminal activity in this case has cast a shadow over our community,” SLCPD Chief Mike Brown said, in the prepared statement. “We know this criminal activity, as alleged, is directly linked to violent crime.”
Since Sept. 3, detectives have executed five court-authorized search warrants. During the warrants, detectives have seized more than $350,000 worth of THC cartridges, 13 handguns, more than $30,000 in cash, and other evidence, the statement says.
