TOOELE, Utah, Jan. 20, 2025 (Gephardt Daily) — Tooele City police have arrested a 50-year-old California man who was found in a city hotel room with drugs including nearly 10 pounds of methamphetamine and with three children, ages 1, 2 and 3.
Kennith James Pierce, of Bakersfield, was arrested Sunday night and booked into jail for investigation of alleged:
- Conspiracy theft/receiving – firearm or operable motor vehicle, a second-degree felony
- Three counts of conspiracy endangerment of child or vulnerable adult
- Two counts of conspiracy possession of dangerous weapon by restricted person, a third-degree felony
- Two counts of conspiracy possession of controlled substance marijuana/spice, a class A misdemeanor
- Conspiracy alter number on pistol/revolver, a class A misdemeanor
- Two counts of conspiracy possession of controlled substance marijuana/spice, a class B misdemeanor
- Conspiracy use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
A tip from a confidential source alerted police that Pierce and two other adults were staying at the Holiday Inn Express Hotel and had large quantities of meth in the room with them.
“The confidential source advised that there were also three small children in the hotel room with these adults and they were smoking methamphetamine around the children,” Pierce’s arrest document says.
“Further information was provided that Mr. Pierce and the other adults had transported several pounds of methamphetamine from California to Tooele using the Dodge truck and also were in possession of two ‘Ghost Guns.'”
“With this information, Tooele Major Crimes Task Force Officer applied for and were granted a search warrant for the hotel room Mr. Pierce and the other adults were staying in and for the Dodge pickup truck officers located in the parking lot of the hotel.”
The police statement says that “On entering the hotel room, I could smell the strong and overwhelming odor of methamphetamine coming from inside of the hotel room. I also observed three small children sleeping on the beds which I later discovered were the ages of 3 years old, 2 years old and 1 year old.”
The search turned up two packages of meth weighing a total of 9.8 pounds, which were hidden in the toilet. Also found were two packages of marijuana, a vial of liquid tested positive for fentanyl, and a container of psilocybin mushrooms, a digital scale observed to have white powder on it, a magazine for a handgun, and two handguns.
“I observed the serial numbers for the handguns had been tampered with and appeared to be grinded off,” the arrest document says. “On one of the handguns a serial number was located and after searching NCIC was observed as being a handgun listed as stolen.”
Pierce was taken into custody and booked into the Tooele County jail, to be held without bail.
