ST. GEORGE — A traffic stop Tuesday in Iron County led to a foot pursuit and ‘pipeline’ drug arrest resulting in three Wisconsin suspects being booked into jail. A fourth occupant, a juvenile also from Wisconsin, was initially reported as unaccounted for but was later located by police and transported to a juvenile detention center.

The incident began with a call to 911 reporting a possible reckless driver. The call triggered an alert that was broadcast out to officers to be on the lookout for the vehicle. During the search, an Iron County Sheriff’s deputy came upon a Jeep on Canyon Ranch Drive in Cedar City and activated his lights to initiate a traffic stop for an “unrelated traffic offense,” Iron County Sheriff’s Lt. Del Schlosser said.

Just as the Jeep driver pulled over near the Love’s Travel Stop parking lot, all four occupants jumped from the vehicle and started running, Schlosser said, adding that one of the suspects was caught right away, while deputies closed in on two suspects who were taken into custody minutes later.

“It was a short pursuit, and all three subjects were detained relatively quickly,” he said, “but the 17-year-old passenger was located later and was place in youth detention.”

All four vehicle occupants were traveling through Utah from Green Bay, Wisconsin, when the traffic stop occurred.

A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered 10 pounds of marijuana and various pills and tablets, Schlosser said, adding that the pills were sent to the crime lab for identification.

Carlos Discua was booked into jail on one third-degree felony count of distribution, arrange or offer of a controlled substance, along with three class B misdemeanor offenses, including possession of less than one ounce of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and one count of reckless driving.

Karina Victor and Nestor Daniel Lopez each face one third-degree felony count of distribution, arrange or offer of controlled substance and one count of possession/use of a controlled substance, a class B misdemeanor.

Including the interview of suspects and vehicle search, the entire process took deputies “about 10 hours or so, and they were busy,” Schlosser said.

The suspects remain in custody as this report publishes.

This report is based on statements from police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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