CEDAR CITY — A driver who was pulled over on Interstate 15 in Iron County on Thursday for having excessively tinted windows was arrested after officers found drugs in his vehicle.
According to a probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest, 25-year-old Angel Ramon Mendoza was driving north on I-15 near Cedar City shortly before 10 a.m. when a Utah Highway Patrol trooper noticed that the passing car “appeared to have window tint that was darker than the legal limit.”
After getting the driver to pull over near mile marker 65, approximately 3 miles north of Cedar City, the trooper then reportedly received the driver’s permission to conduct a search.
“I observed a nugget of green leafy substance near the front center console during the search, and the search transitioned into a probable cause search,” the trooper wrote, adding that Mendoza did not have a medical marijuana card.
After finding a specialized tool in the trunk area of the vehicle, the trooper used it to remove the upholstery clips from a side panel and found several packages of what appeared to be narcotics.
“A more in-depth search was performed and approximately nine pounds of methamphetamine was located in the right rear quarter panel of the vehicle,” the trooper wrote. Additionally, some 78 grams of marijuana were located inside a compartment in the vehicle’s center console.
The window tinting did turn out to be too dark for state law, measuring 27% on the right front passenger window. Under current Utah law, a vehicle’s front side windows must let in at least 43% of light.
Additionally, the car had a window-mounted phone holder obstructing the driver’s view, the charging document stated. According to Utah law, a person may not operate a motor vehicle with an object or device hanging or mounted in a manner that materially obstructs the operator’s view.
Mendoza was subsequently booked into Iron County Jail on charges of possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, driving with obscured vision and driving without insurance.
At the time of the publication of this report, an initial court appearance for Mendoza had not yet been scheduled. Although an address for Mendoza was not listed on the probable cause affidavit, he did show a California driver license to the investigating trooper.
This report is based on statements from court documents and law enforcement officials 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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