EAST CARBON, Utah, March 13, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — What started out as a domestic violence call turned into a major drug bust East Carbon, a town of 1,500.
Multiple agencies converged on a trailer in a city campground last week after the Carbon County Sheriff’s drug sniffing dog, Baus, indicated the presence of drugs in the trailer, according to police statements on agencies’ web sites.
East Carbon police had initially been summoned by the suspect’s girlfriend, who said she felt threatened by him.
“The investigation so far has resulted in the seizure of multiple firearms and ammunition, approximately one pound of methamphetamine, approximately 13.5 pounds of marijuana, dozens of drug paraphernalia items, and over $59,000 in cash,” says a Price City Police Department post.
The suspect and another man had been living in the trailer at different locations around town for a few months, said East Carbon Officer Chad Nielson.
The other man was not on the premises, Nielson said, and is believed to have left the area because of the drug bust. The woman was not arrested.
Nielson said officers estimated the meth seized might be worth as much as $45,000.
Arrested was Jesse Moravec, 37. According to his probable cause statement, Moravec admitted the drugs were his but denied selling them, saying he used them to self-medicate for pain from injuries in an automobile accident. The cash on hand, he claimed, was from a settlement over the car crash.
Moravec was booked into the Carbon County Jail on suspicion of two counts of drug possession, one second-degree felony and the other a misdemeanor along with a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He also faces a second-degree felony charge of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person due to a felony on his record which precludes gun ownership.
The girlfriend’s domestic violence claim was determined to be a verbal argument.
Besides Price City and East Carbon police officers, others involved in the case include the Sheriff’s Office and the Carbon Metro Drug Task Force, the latter conducting an ongoing investigation.
