CEDAR CITY – A 50-year-old man was arrested in Cedar City last week and charged with three second-degree felony drug distribution charges after he allegedly sold methamphetamine three times to a confidential informant working with the area drug task force in July.
The informant arranged all three of the controlled drug buys for the Iron/Garfield/Beaver Counties Narcotics Task Force, which led to the arrest of Iron County resident Paul Durand.
The first purchase was made by the informant on July 27 after the task force was told Durand would be willing to sell methamphetamine to him, according to a probable cause statement filed in support of Durand’s arrest.
Previous to the buy, agents met with the informant at a prearranged location and searched the person’s vehicle to ensure there were no illegal substances already on board. Once the search was completed, according to the statement, agents gave the informant task force money and surveillance equipment to use during the drug purchase.
The transaction took only two minutes, the statement said, but remained under surveillance by agents the entire time.
Meeting back up with agents after exchanging task force money for a small bag of “a white crystalline substance” later identified as meth, the informant discussed details of the purchase with the agents. Surveillance equipment was returned, and the informant’s vehicle was searched again to ensure there were no illegal substances left behind.
The informant allegedly made two more controlled buys from Durand on July 28 and 30 following the exact same protocol as the purchase made on July 27.
Durand, who has no known address, was located by the task force on Sept. 18 and taken into custody in relation to the three methamphetamine sales from July, the statement said.
While in custody, according to the statement, Durand waved his Miranda rights and admitted to agents that he was selling the drugs to supplement his income because he lost his job and was unable to find gainful employment elsewhere since then.
Durand admitted to smoking methamphetamine that same day in Cedar City before agents arrested him, the statement said.
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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Dang tweeker. Smoking meth is not going to help you gain employment.
Desperate times for desperate people. you just never know.