Trooper in Iron County stops driver traveling ‘extremely slowly,’ finds 21 pounds of meth

File photo: Utah Highway Patrol

IRON COUNTY, Utah, May 14, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Two men were arrested Saturday after a Utah Highway Patrol trooper noticed them driving extremely slowly in the left lane of Interstate 15.

The gray Dodge Charger was near mile marker 63, and was northbound when the trooper noticed the vehicle “driving northbound extremely slowly in the left lane,” the trooper wrote in the arrest reports filed for driver Carlos Hernandez and passenger Robert Anthony Diaz, Sr., both 59.

The trooper pulled over the Charger. Hernandez could not provide proof of current insurance.

“During the course of my traffic stop, I became suspicious of further criminal activity,” the trooper wrote in probable cause statements for Hernandez and passenger Robert Anthony Diaz, Sr., also 59.

“Another trooper responded to the scene with his K-9, Nitro, who gave a positive indication to the odor of narcotics coming from inside the vehicle.

“During a probable cause search, we located two garbage bags in the trunk containing 21 packages of a white crystal substance that would later NIK test positive for methamphetamine,” the probable cause statements say. NIK tests are a product that supplies rapid test results.

“Later these packages were weighed at the office for an estimated weight of twenty-one pounds,” the statement says.

Also located in the vehicle was a baggie containing a white crystal residue in the cupholder of the car and a marijuana pipe and THC vape pen. The white crystal residue in the baggie later NIK tested positive for methamphetamine.

Both subjects were booked into Iron County Jail, in Cedar City, on suspicion of:

  • Possession with intent to distribute C/substances, a second-degree felony
  • Possession of controlled substances schedule I/II/analog, a class A misdemeanor
  • Possession of controlled substance marijuana/spice, a class B misdemeanor
  • Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor

Hernandez faces additional charges of:

  • Operating a vehicle without insurance, a class C misdemeanor
  • Operating a vehicle without license or registration, suspended or revoked, a class C misdemeanor
  • Failure to register or expired registration, an infraction

Both men were ordered held without bail.

Iron County Jail Cedar City Photo Google Streets

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