KANE COUNTY, Utah, Dec. 9, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Four people were arrested Friday after they were allegedly found in a vehicle with 22.4 pounds of fentanyl pills and a toddler.
A Kane County Sheriff official said he was stationary near the westbound lane of U.S. 89 near milepost 58 when he began to follow a black Ford Fusion that was driving at 25 mph, lower than the speed limit of 45 mph.
The officer followed the vehicle into Kanab, according to an affidavit filed in the arrest of Alexis Archuleta Rivas, 28, the vehicle’s driver.
The officer found the vehicle contained four adults and an 18-month-old child in a car seat.
Passenger Tomas Eduardo Ibarra, 27, was questioned because he was the most fluent in English. Ibarra said no one in the vehicle had a driver license.
“I was handed passports or Mexican IDs from all individuals. It appeared that all individuals in the vehicle were Mexican nationals,” the affidavits say.
A deputy arrived who could translate Spanish to English, and interviewed Rivas, who said the group was traveling from Arizona to see the female passenger’s family.
Ibarra gave consent for a vehicle search, and officers found multiple packages of blue pills, the affidavits say.
“Based on my training and experience I believed the pills to be Fentanyl,” the Kane County deputy’s account says. “I located seven packages in the backpack. These pills were in the trunk but were within approximately two feet of the baby’s car seat. I located a black machete knife between the driver seat and center console.”
Two more packages of Fentanyl pills were located in the glove compartment, and a bundle totaling $2,000 in $20 bills, wrapped in rubber bands, was found in the purse of passenger Fernanda Gastelum-Lugo, 20, mother of the child, the statement says.
The four adults were transported to the Kane County Jail, and the child was taken to a shelter.
Driver Rivas was arrested for investigation of:
- Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, a first-degree felony
- Endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult, a third-degree felony
- Category 1 restricted person with dangerous weapon for unlawful purpose, a third-degree felony
- No valid license, never obtained, an infraction
- Impeding traffic, an infraction
- Improper right turn, an infraction
Gastelum-Lugo, Ibarra, and Jaime Arturo Martinez-Pena, 24, were arrested for investigation of:
- Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, a first-degree felony
- Endangerment of a child or vulnerable adult, a third-degree felony
All four adults were ordered to be held without bail.
