Police arrest alleged heroin, meth dealer after spotting gun in his lap during traffic stop

Stock image | St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Police reportedly spotted a gun between the legs of a passenger in a vehicle during a traffic stop in St. George Friday. The initial discovery led to the arrest of an alleged St. George drug dealer after officers found a distributable amount of heroin and meth along with two additional guns.

Travis Christopher Leck, of St. George, Utah, booking photo posted May 19, 2017 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Travis Christopher Leck, 26, of St. George, was a passenger in the vehicle stopped by police on South Dixie Drive at approximately 6:45 p.m. Friday, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Washington County Drug Task Force in support of the arrest.

“Officers observed the grip and cylinder of a revolver in plain sight inside a backpack that was between Leck’s legs,” the arresting officer wrote in a sworn statement. “Leck was taken out of the vehicle for officer safety and handcuffed.”

Officers placed Leck under arrest upon being notified that Leck had an active warrant for his arrest, according to the statement. Leck and his property were subsequently searched.

During the search, heroin, a “large amount” of cash and a set of brass knuckles were allegedly located in the jacket Leck was wearing, the report stated.

“The heroin was packaged in 14 individual bags that were later weighed,” the officer stated. “The total weight of the 14 bags was 16.5 grams.”

Inside a backpack that was between Leck’s legs during the traffic stop, officers located three handguns, knives, a small scale and a lock picking set, among other items, according to the statement.

Underneath Leck’s hat, officers located a “large bag” of methamphetamine, weighing 42 grams, the report stated.

Leck was transported and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

The Washington County Attorney’s Office filed an information in 5th District Court accusing Leck of second-degree felony drug possession with intent to distribute; third-degree felony drug possession with intent to distribute; three third-degree felony counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person; along with two class B misdemeanor counts of possession of burglary tools and drug paraphernalia.

Leck made his initial appearance in 5th District Court before Judge Eric Ludlow Monday afternoon. He is scheduled to make his next court appearance on May 30.

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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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2017, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • Utahguns May 23, 2017 at 3:27 pm

    Cook him…..

  • comments May 23, 2017 at 5:05 pm

    meth dealers are the worst kind of scum. I say euthanize them all. Better for them and better for society.

  • Not_So_Much May 24, 2017 at 7:07 am

    At least throw away the key.

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