MESQUITE, Nev. – Monday evening two people were arrested after Mesquite Police volunteers came upon a vehicle that was illegally parked in a handicap-accessible stall at a convenience store.
The police volunteers ran a standard records check on the driver of the vehicle and determined he had a warrant for his arrest issued out of the Mesquite Municipal Court. Patrol officers responded and arrested the driver, a 21 year old St. George man identified as Jose Soto.
The patrol officers then discovered drug paraphernalia and 18.6 grams of methamphetamine found inside of a purse owned by one of the passengers in the vehicle.
The owner of the purse, a 26 year old City of Washington woman, Megan Smalldon, was arrested and charged with felony drug trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Mesquite Police volunteers were to credit for effectively working with patrol officers, Mesquite Police Captain Shane Charles said in a statement released on Wednesday.
“The Mesquite Police Volunteers provide an extraordinary service to the police department and community, as demonstrated in this case, the volunteers are a critical element to our success,” Charles said.
Ed. Note: Persons 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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Bring me up to speed. What is a “police volunteer” and what are their duties?
Roger, I am linking below a report we did some time ago on St. George Volunteers in Public Safety – or VIPs. It will give you an idea of how police forces use volunteers – although, to be clear, we have not developed a report on Mesquite’s program and it may differ from that of St. George.
http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2011/09/04/vips-patrolling-the-streets-serving-the-public/
I hope that helps?
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Joyce Kuzmanic