25 pounds of meth seized following police chase in Washington County

Utah Highway Patrol stock image | St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Authorities in Washington County helped seize approximately 25 pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $1,250,000 during a traffic stop Saturday on Interstate 15.

Ronald L. Slate, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, booking photo posted March 10, 2018 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

A Utah Highway Patrol trooper was staged near northbound I-15 milepost 4 when an Arizona Highway Patrol trooper advised that he was in pursuit of a vehicle that was about to cross the Utah-Arizona border into Washington County, according to a probable cause statement filed by UHP in support of the arrest.

The Arizona trooper continued the pursuit into Utah as the driver of the vehicle – later identified as Ronald L. Slate, 42, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska – exited the interstate at milepost 2 and headed east on to state Route 7, the report states.

“The vehicle crossed over into the opposing lane of travel and came to a stop,” the trooper wrote in the statement.

After placing Slate under arrest, authorities searched his vehicle and allegedly located 25 pounds of meth on the front seat, the report states.

Slate 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 Slate of second-degree felony drug possession with the intent to distribute, third-degree felony failure to stop at the command of police, and class C misdemeanor driving on a denied license.

As this report publishes, Slate remains in police custody on $25,000 bail pending trial.

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, 2018, all rights reserved.

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6 Comments

  • aaron March 13, 2018 at 12:47 pm

    I hope, that this guy was not working for the cartels in Mexico. Because can you say he is so screwed, and not not mention any family members of his, can you say this dude may not be long for this world.

  • DRT March 13, 2018 at 4:30 pm

    I believe this is the most disjointed, confusing, and incomplete article that I’ve ever seen in the St. George News! Doesn’t anybody do any proof reading before sticking it up on the web?

    • comments March 14, 2018 at 1:16 pm

      it looked fine. a bit low on detail maybe….

  • PlanetU March 13, 2018 at 8:39 pm

    On the FRONT seat? seriously…….

  • Carpe Diem March 14, 2018 at 9:08 am

    That is a serious stash taken off the street! Good catch! Wonder what infraction he caused to get pulled over to begin with. Then, he is driving on a denied license with a million $ of hard drugs sitting shotgun.

    DOH! pe

  • Meagan Leigh March 14, 2018 at 3:43 pm

    A white guy from a Blue state, oh my!

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