ST. GEORGE — A motorist using a mapping application on a cellphone led to the recovery of a large amount of cash and illegal narcotics that authorities say were the leftovers from a rave festival held over the weekend in Nevada.
Shortly after 11 p.m., a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy conducted a traffic stop on Interstate 15 near the St. George Boulevard Exit after observing the driver of a recreational vehicle operate a handheld device while heading north in a recreational vehicle, according to charging documents filed with the court.
“I observed this female driver to be operating her cell phone between herself and the steering wheel,” the deputy wrote.
The officer also noted that even after following the vehicle, the driver continued to operate the cellphone before she pulled off the interstate and stopped for police.
Police say while the driver explained that had been using a mapping app on her cellphone, they detected the odor of burnt marijuana coming from the open driver’s side window of the RV.
Based on the marijuana odor, all six occupants were asked to exit the vehicle and during a subsequent search of the RV, deputies recovered various narcotics, paraphernalia and a large amount of cash.
According to the report, police found cocaine, marijuana, MDMA (also called “Molly”), ketamine and 2CB (a synthetic hallucinogen) during the search, as well as a number of paraphernalia-related items.
While speaking to deputies, a majority of the occupants reportedly claimed ownership of the marijuana, but nothing else, except for one occupant – Elizabeth Bristow.
Authorities say that Bristow, 25, of Denver, Colorado, claimed ownership of all the MDMA, which consisted of more than 60 pills; several bags of raw MDMA powder purportedly used to fill more capsules; and nearly 200 plastic baggies, packaging known to be used for the distribution of illegal narcotics.
During an interview with police, Bristow allegedly said she went to Nevada and purchased the drugs “in bulk” for $5,000. After that, she said, she went to the Electric Daisy Carnival, or EDC, the largest annual rave held at a motorway in Las Vegas where she sold the narcotics, police say.
The large amount of cash was from the proceeds of those sales, according to the report.
Bristow was arrested and transported to jail in Washington County facing four second-degree felony counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. She also faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia for the baggies found in the RV.
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.
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