ST. GEORGE — Two men face felony drug charges after a seemingly routine vehicle stop on Interstate 15 by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper Sunday afternoon turned into a pair of drug arrests
Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Todd Johnson said a UHP trooper pulled a vehicle over at 1:37 p.m., Sunday, at milepost 3 on I-15, for a traffic violation. The trooper could smell an odor of marijuana coming from the car, Johnson said. The car’s occupants, Juan Carlos Gonzalez, 38, of New Jersey, and Omar David Colon-Castillo, 27, or Pennsylvania, denied there was marijuana in the car.
The trooper searched the car and found within the trunk a box allegedly filled with marijuana, and bags of meth and heroin. Johnson was unable to confirm the quality of narcotics found.
Gonzales and Colon-Callisto were read their Miranda rights, arrested and booked into the Purgatory Correctional Facility.
Gonzalez faces one second-degree felony and one third-degree felony for manufacture/distribution, and one class B misdemeanor for drug paraphernalia.
Colon-Callisto faces two second-degree felony charges for alleged drug manufacture/distribution, and one class B misdemeanor for drug paraphernalia.
Both men appeared in Fifth District Court on Monday and bail has been set at $100,000 each.
Ed. Note: Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
St. George News Assistant Editor Mori Kessler contributed to this story.
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