Oddly-behaving man allegedly tells police he was on ‘hella meth’

Stock image | St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A 24-year-old man was arrested on a variety of charges Sunday after allegedly admitting to police that he was on “hella meth” when they asked him about his odd behavior.

Just before 8 p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a traffic offense after it had been reported that a man in a purple minivan was acting oddly and had almost backed into traffic on State Street, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Hurricane City Police Department in support of the arrest.

Jose Juarez Castruita, booking photo posted Jan. 21, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Upon arriving in the area, police located a purple minivan in a nearby parking lot, the report states. An officer approached the purple minivan and found it had its headlights on and was running, but no one was inside.

The officer then began to check the immediate area and located a white van with its taillights on parked along the street just outside the parking lot, the arresting officer wrote in the sworn statement.

When the officer went to speak with the individual in the driver’s seat, he noticed the individual matched the description of the man reportedly involved in the traffic offense, the report states.

“While speaking with the male, he stated the purple van belonged to ‘Jose.’ He stated Jose was high and was hiding in the back of the van. The male then stated the purple van was his, along with the white van he was sitting in,” the officer wrote in the statement, noting:

The male then began to say strange things and act oddly.

The officer began to suspect the man was under the influence of narcotics, the report states. When questioned about using drugs, the man allegedly told the officer he had snorted “hella meth.”

While speaking with officers, the man eventually admitted he was “Jose” and that police could obtain his identification from his wallet inside the purple van, according to the statement. When police retrieved his wallet from the van’s center console, a baggy of suspected methamphetamine was observed sitting next to it.

Police identified the man as Jose Juarez Castruita by a Mexican Identification from his wallet, the report states. Also found inside his wallet was a United States Permanent Resident Card and a Social Security Card with Castruita’s information on it.

“These cards appeared to be fraudulent documents in look and feel. They also resembled other’s fraudulent documents I have come in contact with,” the officer wrote, adding:

Jose (Castruita) also admitted that his United States Permanent Residence Card and Social Security Card were fraudulent, and he had purchased them in another state.

Castruita was arrested and transported to the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

The Washington County Attorney’s Office filed an information in 5th District Court accusing Castruita of two third-degree felony counts of possession of a forgery document, class A misdemeanor drug possession, and two class B misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Castruita appeared before 5th District Judge Eric A. Ludlow Monday for his initial appearance. His next court appearance is set for Jan. 29.

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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Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2018, all rights reserved.

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12 Comments

  • comments January 23, 2018 at 4:44 pm

    is this one of obama’s dreamer kids or DACA kids or whatever they’re called?

  • IRA January 23, 2018 at 5:14 pm

    “Also found inside his wallet was a United States Permanent Resident Card and a Social Security Card with Castruita’s information on it.” That means he is legally in the U.S.. Not DACA or Dreamer.

    • ladybugavenger January 23, 2018 at 6:56 pm

      That’s all fine and dandy if your a liberal…But the rest continues as written:

      “These cards appeared to be fraudulent documents in look and feel. They also resembled other’s fraudulent documents I have come in contact with,” the officer wrote, adding:

      Jose (Castruita) also admitted that his United States Permanent Residence Card and Social Security Card were fraudulent, and he had purchased them in another state.”

    • comments January 23, 2018 at 7:44 pm

      read the article

    • John January 23, 2018 at 8:38 pm

      read the article…“These cards appeared to be fraudulent documents in look and feel. They also resembled other’s fraudulent documents I have come in contact with,” the officer wrote, adding:

      Jose (Castruita) also admitted that his United States Permanent Residence Card and Social Security Card were fraudulent, and he had purchased them in another state.

    • youcandoit January 24, 2018 at 5:59 pm

      Didn’t you see he admitted to the officer they were fake documents.

  • christoff79 January 23, 2018 at 8:03 pm

    Hey IRA keep reading, it goes on to say “Jose (Castruita) also admitted that his United States Permanent Residence Card and Social Security Card were fraudulent, and he had purchased them in another state.” So that means he is illegally here in the U.S., it helps to read the whole article and not just pick parts of it to make an argument.

  • Whatteverrr January 23, 2018 at 8:27 pm

    Fake docs is a major hussle too:

    “These cards appeared to be fraudulent documents in look and feel. They also resembled other’s fraudulent documents I have come in contact with,” the officer wrote, adding:

    Jose (Castruita) also admitted that his United States Permanent Residence Card and Social Security Card were fraudulent, and he had purchased them in another state.

  • and January 23, 2018 at 8:32 pm

    IRA, did you not read the article? He isn’t here legally.

    Jose (Castruita) also admitted that his United States Permanent Residence Card and Social Security Card were fraudulent, and he had purchased them in another state.

    Call ICE and deport him.

  • PlanetU January 23, 2018 at 9:10 pm

    don’t let the door hit ya in the ass….

  • Mean Momma January 23, 2018 at 11:03 pm

    Bye bye Jose

  • Redbud January 26, 2018 at 3:59 am

    BUILD THAT WALL! BUILD THAT WALL!!!

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