CEDAR CITY — A man accused of selling methamphetamine and cocaine out of his Iron County residence was recently arrested following an undercover bust.
Guadalupe Lares, 54, was taken into custody in Iron County Jail on Friday morning by agents with the Iron-Garfield-Beaver Narcotics Task Force.
According to the probable cause statement filed in support of his arrest, Lares sold “large amounts” of drugs to undercover officers on three separate occasions over a period of several months.
After months of surveillance and investigative work, task force agents obtained a search warrant on Oct. 5. The following morning, agents raided the home, located in the 5200 block of 2950 West, in an unincorporated neighborhood to the north and west of Enoch.
According to the affidavit, the search yielded nearly 14 ounces of methamphetamine and 44 grams of cocaine. Additionally, agents also reportedly found a firearm, cash, fake identification cards and drug paraphernalia.
“During an interview Lares admitted to selling little amounts of methamphetamine and cocaine to friends,” the arresting officer wrote in the affidavit. “He admitted to going to Nevada to pick up the drugs in his Kia.”
As of Wednesday, Lares is being held without bail in Iron County Jail. He faces three second-degree felony counts of drug possession with intent to distribute, in addition to one count of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, a third-degree felony, and one count of fraud by using false identification, also a third degree felony, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.
Lares made his initial court appearance on Tuesday and had public defender Jeffery Slack appointed as his counsel. He has a detention review hearing scheduled for Oct. 16 and a preliminary hearing set for Oct. 23.
According to the charging documents, Lares is from Mexico and is not a legal resident of the United States. Federal authorities have been notified, the affidavit states.
This report is based on statements from court documents and law enforcement officials 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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