ST. GEORGE — One man’s alleged attempt to conceal his identity with a towel while passing police on Interstate 15 just north of the Utah-Arizona border led to the discovery of multiple pounds of narcotics.
Shortly after 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, a St. George Police officer stationed on I-15 near the Port of Entry was observing traffic as part of a criminal interdiction undertaking, when a gold Chevrolet Malibu with two occupants heading into Utah passed by, at which point officers said the passenger threw a towel over his head, which concealed his face.
According to charging documents filed with the court, the officer’s suspicions further were raised when the driver appeared to turn his head, sink down into his seat and hit the brakes, even though police say the car did not appear to be traveling above the posted speed limit.
Based on the “obvious changes” brought about by the presence of police, the officer pulled out into traffic and got behind the car, the report states.
Following a lane violation and the Malibu following “dangerously close” behind another vehicle, police allege, the officer conducted a traffic stop.
Upon approaching the vehicle, police say the passenger still had the towel over his face and appeared to be pretending to sleep.
When the officer asked the driver, Luis Valenzuela Flores, to whom the vehicle belonged, Flores reportedly said it was a rental vehicle and showed the officer the rental information on his cellphone.
Authorities say the driver told police that he and the passenger, Daniel Beltran Polanco, both residents of Nampa, Idaho, about 20 miles west of Boise, had gone to Las Vegas to have fun and had spent one night in Nevada before heading back to Idaho.
But gas receipts later found in the vehicle showed the pair was traveling through California hours earlier, and the number of fuel receipts led officers to believe the suspects “did not simply visit Las Vegas,” the report states.
In the meantime, a second officer responded and was writing up a written warning, while a K-9 was deployed to conduct a free-air sniff around the outside perimeter of the car. The animal indicated the possible presence of narcotics, the report states, and both men were detained while the driver was advised the vehicle would be searched.
Officers asked Flores if there was anything illegal inside the Malibu. While listing each drug specifically, the officer watched the driver for any obvious changes and noticed a marked change when asked if there was any fentanyl in the car, the report states.
In the trunk, police say they found a black suitcase containing a small plastic grocery sack that was placed on top of a stack of clothing. Inside the bag were several smaller packages all wrapped in many layers of clear plastic wrap.
While sorting through the many packages, officers say they found five packages of suspected methamphetamine, three packages of suspected cocaine, seven packages of suspected fentanyl, and a larger bag containing a “solid chunk of a black tar substance” suspected to be heroin.
With the amount of suspected narcotics found in the car, the Washington County Drug Task Force responded to assist in processing the scene and collecting evidence. The packages were weighed and field tested as positive at the scene, the report states.
The total weight of the narcotics was 5 pounds of meth, 1.7 pounds of fentanyl pills, a quarter pound of cocaine, and 52 grams of heroin – total weights the officer said were “clearly more in quantity than the average drug user possesses.”
Broken down into street values, an estimated $330,000 in suspected narcotics was reportedly recovered: $178,000 in fentanyl; $124,000 in meth; more than $9,100 in heroin; and $18,000 in cocaine.
The suspects were transported and booked into jail in Washington County each facing four second-degree felony counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
The officer also requested that both men be held without bail, citing the suspects posed a flight risk if released. The request ultimately was denied, and the judge ordered each suspect to be held on $20,000 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.