CEDAR CITY, Utah, Oct. 3, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah Highway Patrol troopers arrested a 25-year-old driver in Cedar City Monday for an alleged window tint violation, and say they found 25 pounds of cocaine, according to his affidavit.
Juan Carlos Perez Jr. was arrested at 11:35 p.m., court records show.
The affidavit, filed by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper based in Cedar City, says the officer “observed a black sedan, driving slowly in the right lane, that had significant tint on its front driver’s side window. This tint would later be measured at 21%, illegal in Utah and California.”
The officer pulled the car over, which was allegedly traveling at 60 to 65 mph in an 80 mph zone.
“During the course of my traffic stop I became suspicious of further criminal activity. I requested another trooper deploy his police service dog, which he informed me alerted to but did not indicate the odor of narcotics coming from inside the vehicle. I asked Juan for consent to search the vehicle, which he denied.”
The trooper detained Perez and a male juvenile while obtaining a search warrant.
“During a vehicle search I located two cardboard boxes that were sealed within the trunk. Inside of these two boxes I located 10 blue plastic-wrapped packages consistent with narcotics. The two subjects were placed under arrest and transported to the Cedar City UHP Office.
“The packages all weighed approximately one kilogram each for a total weight of 10 kilograms or 25 pounds. One of the packages was cut open and NIK tested positive for cocaine.”
Perez was booked into the Iron County jail for investigation of:
- Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substances, a second-degree felony
- Operating vehicle without license or registration, suspended or revoked, a class C misdemeanor
- Window tint violation, an infraction
The younger male was booked into a juvenile detention center.
