CEDAR CITY — An out-of-state driver pulled over for speeding in Iron County Tuesday night was subsequently arrested for drug possession, along with his passenger.
According to a probable cause statement filed in support of their arrests, Ruben Cano, 37, and Christopher Chacon, 46, were each booked into Iron County Jail just before 2 a.m. Wednesday.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper had pulled over a red Dodge Caravan with Virginia license plates on northbound Interstate 15 near mile marker 47, about 10 miles south of Cedar City.
The trooper clocked the vehicle at 100 mph in an 80 mph zone, he wrote, adding that he subsequently caught up to the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop near mile marker 49.
Both Cano, the driver, and backseat passenger Chacon produced New York driver’s licenses when asked for identification, the statement said.
“During the course of the traffic stop I started to be suspicious that the occupants were involved in criminal activity,” the trooper wrote, adding that another UHP trooper and his trained K-9 dog were then brought in to assist in searching the vehicle for suspected drugs.
With the assistance of the K-9 officer, investigators reportedly found 19 grams of heroin in the passenger’s luggage, along with approximately five pounds of methamphetamine in bags concealed in the left rear quarter panel of the vehicle.
Authorities also reportedly found a can containing a small amount of marijuana that the passenger had apparently tossed out the window as the vehicle was being pulled over.
Both men were taken to Cedar City and interviewed by UHP investigators, with assistance from the State Bureau of Investigation, before being booked into jail.
According to jail booking records, Chacon faces two felony charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, in addition to misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and obstructing justice. He was also cited for not having on his seat belt.
Cano faces one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and one count of possession of paraphernalia, in addition to the speeding citation.
This report is based on information provided by law enforcement 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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