ST. GEORGE – Undercover drug buys and a traffic stop led to the arrest of a suspected drug dealer.
A vehicle driven by James B. Hone, 45, of St. George, was stopped by a St. George Police officer on Red Cliffs Drive Thursday afternoon, according to a probable cause statement.
During the stop, the officer deployed a K-9 officer who “identified the presence of (a) narcotic odor coming from the vehicle,” the statement reads.
Upon further investigation, a “distributable amount” of suspected heroin and methamphetamine was located in a backpack inside the vehicle.
The officer also found a handgun and ammunition inside the vehicle.
Hone was arrested and transported to the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility with two second-degree felony offenses for drug possession with intent to distribute, as well as a third-degree felony offense for being a “restricted person” in possession of a handgun.
Typically, a previous felony conviction will render an individual unable to legally own a firearm. According to court records, Hone does not have any prior felony convictions.
However, authorities added the firearms offense due to “being in possession of illegal narcotics,” according to the probable cause statement.
Once in custody at Purgatory, Hone had additional charges levied against him by the Washington County Drug Task Force related to controlled drug buys involved a confidential informant.
“Within the past 120 days, the Washington County Drug Task Force (WCDTF) conducted a controlled purchase investigation involving suspect James Bradley Hone,” according to a probable cause statement.
Undercover informants were used in two instances over the 120-day period to purchase heroin from a man the informants identified as Hone.
That led to Hone being charged with two additional second-degree felonies for drug distribution, as well as a misdemeanor for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Hone is being held at the county jail and made his initial appearance in 5th District Court Friday. He is slated to appear in court again April 30.
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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