OREM, Utah, March 2, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — A Springville woman who stopped for a traffic violation in Orem turned out to have thousands of doses of illegal drugs in her car, Utah County Sheriff’s officials say.
Tanya Tuttle Mize, 40, was questioned after a UCSO deputy stopped her for crossing a solid white line. The deputy then noticed drug paraphernalia visible in her car. A search of the vehicle turned up drugs including:
- 9.6 pounds of methamphetamine
- 5,000 (approximately) blue pills made with fentanyl and are marked to look like OxycodoneIR30 pills.
“These pills are manufactured outside the United States by drug dealers, not by legitimate pharmaceutical companies,” a Utah County Sheriff’s statement says. “There is no way a person can be certain of the amount of any given drug or cutting agent in them. This makes it extremely dangerous, and potentially fatal, to ingest them.”
Mize’s probable cause statement says she was “Mirandized at the scene, and admitted that she had driven to San Diego to pickup the narcotics and was transporting them back to Utah. She also said she was planning to hold on to the narcotics for a short period of time before another person was going to come pick them up for further distribution.”
A deputy searching a suitcase felt some form of powder blow into his face, the UCSO statement says.
“He immediately began to experience dizziness, so he stepped back from the car and warned other deputies who arrived to assist him,” it says. “A short time later, this deputy experienced more dizziness and difficulty breathing. He was taken to Timpanogos hospital where he was treated and released. He is expected to fully recover.”
Mize, 40 and a Springville resident, was booked into the Utah County jail, and faces charges of:
- Two counts of distribute/offer/arrange distribution of controlled substances, a second-degree felony
- Possession of controlled substances within a correctional facility, a third-degree felony
- Obstructing justice, a class A misdemeanor
- Three counts of possession of a controlled substances schedule I/II/analog, a Class A misdemeanor
- Driving with measurable controlled substances, a class B misdemeanor
- Possession or use of a controlled substances, a class B misdemeanor
- Use or possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
- Driving on suspended or revoked license, a class C misdemeanor
- Failure to obey traffic control device, and infraction
Mize is being held without bail.
