ST. GEORGE — A traffic stop on Interstate 15 involving a car that was also carrying three small children resulted in the recovery of more than a pound of suspected methamphetamine on Sunday.

The incident began when a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy was monitoring traffic on I-15 just north of the Utah-Arizona border shortly after 3 a.m. A black passenger car heading north passed and the deputy noticed the rear license plate was not illuminated. He got behind the car and conducted a traffic stop, according to charging documents filed with the court.

The deputy approached and spoke to the driver, identified by his Mexico identification card as 28-year-old Guadalupe Galvan Dominguez, and the passenger was identified as Tracy Ellison, 39, of Ukiah, a city in Northern California.

In the backseat, deputies noted there were three young children – an infant and two toddlers, according to the report.

While writing up the citation for the plate violation, another deputy responded and a K-9 was deployed to conduct a free-air sniff around the outside of the vehicle.

The animal indicated to the possible presence of narcotics as it approached the driver’s side wheel well. The dog froze and remained still until the officer instructed the animal to make another pass around the car.

When the K-9 exhibited the same indicators near the wheel well for a second time, deputies asked the occupants to exit the car and a search ensued.

During the search, deputies recovered a number of folded up bills containing suspected methamphetamine, along with a pipe and several other paraphernalia-related items. Deputies also found a small green container with suspected methamphetamine inside.

When officers attempted to open the glove box, they found it to be locked with some type of aftermarket device, and when the deputy peered along the side panel of the dashboard, the report states, he could see a plastic bag that appeared to “contain a large bundle of something.”

When officers pried open the glove box, they found a large gallon-size plastic bag full of a white powdery substance consistent with suspected methamphetamine. In the trunk, officers recovered a small glass container with a dollar bill and more of the white powdery substance inside. The bag was estimated to weigh more than one and one-half pounds.

Ellison told deputies she used marijuana and methamphetamine and said she had found the green container that officers recovered from near the seat area, but said she had no idea to whom it belonged. The report also states the suspect denied any knowledge there was a large bag of suspected methamphetamine in the car.

Both suspects were arrested and transported to jail in Washington County.

At the jail, the driver told deputies that all of the smaller containers of methamphetamine were his, but as to the large bag found in the glove box, Dominguez reportedly said he had loaned the vehicle to a 75-year-old man who has since left the country, adding it must have been him who put the drugs in there.

Ellison asked to speak to a deputy after arriving at the jail, which is when she said her fiancé had traveled to Los Angeles with $1,500-$2,000 to purchase two pounds of marijuana that was to be delivered to another individual.

When confronted, the report states, the suspect admitted their intentions were to buy the methamphetamine all along.

When Ellison was asked if the three young children found in the backseat were part of the suspects’ “cover story while her and her fiancé smuggled the methamphetamine,” the report states the suspect began to cry as she nodded her head, thus confirming the deputy’s suspicions.

Any information on the status of the children following the arrest was not available at the time of this report.

However, in situations involving the arrest of a parent, the Division of Children and Family Service typically is contacted and arrangements are made for the care of the children, preferably with a family member, if possible.

If not, they are placed in the temporary custody of the state until other arrangements can be made.

Following the arrest Sunday, both suspects were booked into jail facing second-degree felony distribution charge, along with two misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance and paraphernalia charges.

Dominquez and Ellison were formally charged on Monday and both remain in custody without bail.

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