Morning patrol officers today kept an eye on a vehicle known to visit suspicious locations suspected of drug activity. The officers knew the vehicle had a registration violation and waited for it to move. Once the vehicle got on the road, officers pursued it and went to pull the driver over. The driver must have known the gig was up and continued to elude officers for a short distance before finally pulling over.
The driver exited the vehicle as the officers performed a high-risk traffic stop. He had a cigarette container in his hand, which he crumpled up and tried to discard. The driver, 27 YOA Anthony Martinez, was detained.
Officers immediately detected the odor of fresh marijuana emanating from Martinez and the vehicle. The vehicle was searched, and officers found a quantity of crystal meth, marijuana, and heroin. Officers also found a loaded 9mm firearm. Martinez is a felon and remains prohibited from possessing a firearm.
Martinez was arrested and charged with illegal possession of a firearm by a felon while committing a felony, illegal possession of PG 1 drugs 1-4 grams, illegal possession of PG 1/1B drugs less than a gram, tampering with physical evidence, and eluding a police officer.
It’s a good time to point out that we sometimes get asked why we enforce such minor traffic violations, such as a registration violation or having a taillight out or license plate light out. We sometimes call these stops “pretext traffic stops.” Just know, it’s not always about the minor traffic violation. Sometimes we have information that goes beyond the traffic complaint. Fine police work often leads to successes just like this one.
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