ST. GEORGE — Police arrested one man after recovering over 140 pounds of meth and a kilo of cocaine last week.
On March 14, an officer was heading north on Interstate 15 near Exit 2 shortly before 7 p.m. and observed a dark red passenger car with its turn signal activated as it passed multiple vehicles but never merged into the fast lane.
The officer stated in the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest “the red passenger car had multiple opportunities to change lanes but did not,” and after observing several more alleged traffic violations, including a rapid lane change that caused another motorist to slam on their brakes to avoid colliding with the merging vehicle, the officer conducted a traffic stop just south of the Brigham Road exit.
While speaking to the driver, identified as 22-year-old Sergio Antonio Silva-Gonzalez by the passport the driver handed over to police that was issued out of Mexico, a K-9 unit officer, who was just clearing an unrelated traffic call a few hundred feet away, responded to the stop to assist. Court records also indicate that Gonzalez is a resident of Denver, Colorado.
While the K-9 was performing a free-air sniff around the outside perimeter of the passenger car the animal indicated to the possible presence of narcotics and the vehicle was searched.
Inside of blue Nautica bag officers found a Taurus handgun and when the serial number was run through the national database, the report states, it came back as stolen.
During a search of the trunk, officers recovered a fruit box that contained a “large quantity” of suspected methamphetamine, as well as a second wrapped package that turned out to be more than two pounds of what later field-tested as cocaine.
Officers also recovered more of what appeared to be methamphetamine in a suitcase located near the fruit box.
The meth was later weighed and totaled more than 140 pounds.
Officers also recovered THC gummies and other marijuana-related products.
Meanwhile, as officers continued to process the vehicle and collect evidence, an agent with the Department of Homeland Security responded to the scene. The agent determined Gonzalez was in the country illegally with no ties to Utah or to the United States, according to the report, and was found with not only a “very large quantity” of suspected narcotics but was in possession of a stolen firearm as well.
The suspect was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and later charged with three second-degree felony charges, including two counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and theft related to the vehicle, as well as third-degree felony possession of a firearm by a restricted person. Gonzalez also faces once count each of possession of marijuana and paraphernalia, as well as a driving on a denied license, each a misdemeanor.
According to a 2019 report released by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), if broken down into street-level sales, the value of 141 pounds of methamphetamine totals more than $3.5 million, while the kilo of cocaine was valued at nearly $139,000.
The report also shows that Utah joins four other states as having the second-highest methamphetamine-related death rate in the country, as shown on the graph included in this report.
Following Monday’s arrest, officers submitted a request that Gonzalez be held with a “very high bail – or no bail,” citing the suspect poses a flight risk if released – a request that was approved by the courts and the suspect remains in custody without bail.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders 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.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.