SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Jan. 17, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — A California man was arrested in the early hours of Saturday after he was stopped by Utah Highway Patrol for driving at night without headlights and was then found to be driving under the influence, with a bank bag containing a large amount of money in his vehicle, the UHP says.
Brandon Huber Jenkins, 45, is facing charges of:
- Distribute/offer/arrange distribution of controlled substance, a third-degree felony
- Money laundering, a second-degree felony
Jenkins also is charged with class B misdemeanor offenses of driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, use or possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of controlled substance marijuana/spice, as well as operating without lights after sunset, which is an infraction.
According to a probable cause statement filed in 3rd District Court in Salt Lake County, at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday, a trooper stopped a tan Ford F150 near State Street and 800 South for driving without headlights on.
“When I made contact with the occupants on driver side, I could immediately smell the odor of raw marijuana in the cabin of the truck,” the trooper states in the affidavit. “I asked how much marijuana was in the vehicle and the driver mentioned there was two pounds of it.”
While the trooper spoke with the passenger, the driver said they had smoked marijuana four hours earlier, according to the statement. The trooper observed the driver to have slowed motor skills as he took out his California driver license.
The trooper conducted standardized field sobriety tests with Jenkins and reported that he could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Jenkins as he spoke. He also saw “many clues and indicators” of impairment due to marijuana and alcohol.
Jenkins was placed under arrest.
During a search of the vehicle, a glass pipe with burn residue in it was found on the passenger side, in the center console, and on the back seat were multiple THC vials and canisters, the affidavit states. Also in the back seat was a 5-gallon bucket containing “two large bags of raw marijuana, and one bag of ground up powder marijuana.”
A bank pouch containing “some papers and a large amount of US currency” was found under the front seat. One of the papers was a promissory note to exchange money for marijuana.
“Agents from the State Bureau of Investigation conducted a post-Miranda interview of Jenkins,” the affidavit says. “Prior to the interview, the promissory note was inspected within the cash-filled bank bag. The handwritten note stated that (an investor) in Brandon’s company, invested $5,000 cash to the business on January 13, 2021. On April 20, 2021, (the investor) was to be compensated with 11 pounds of marijuana for the investment.”
When agents asked Jenkins about the promissory note, he denied knowing what they were talking about. When they asked how much money was in the bag, he replied “about $10,000,” indicating he knew the contents of the bag, according to the affidavit.
Jenkins told the agents he had been in Utah “several months,” and said he was going back to California on Sunday.
“The dates on the promissory note indicated that Brandon had conspired to commit money laundering, and distribute narcotics within the State of Utah just three days ago,” the document states.
Jenkins was booked into Salt Lake County Jail, where he is being held without bail.
