UHP K-9 Titan intercepts 76 pounds of marijuana on I-15

ST. GEORGE — Two Philadelphia men traveling along Interstate 15 Tuesday were arrested on drug distribution charges after a narcotics K-9 helped intercept 76 pounds of marijuana being transported in their vehicle during a routine traffic stop.

Roeung Yang, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, booking photo posted May 17, 2016 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News
Roeung Yang, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, booking photo posted May 17, 2016 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Just before 5 p.m., a trooper initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle just off the northbound I-15 Bloomington Exit 4 for a traffic violation, according to a probable cause statement filed by the Utah Highway Patrol in support of the arrests.

The trooper talked with the driver, identified as 33-year-old Roeung Yang, and his passenger, identified as 32-year-old Philadelphia Say, both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the arresting officer wrote in a sworn statement.

While waiting for a records check of the vehicle, Titan, a Utah Highway Patrol narcotics K-9, was deployed around the exterior of the vehicle, according to the report.

After Titan alerted to the presence of drugs inside the vehicle, a probable cause search of the vehicle was conducted, the report stated.

“In the trunk, I located 4 duffle bags,” the trooper wrote in the statement. “Inside the duffle bags was 76 packages of suspected marijuana. Each bag weighed approximately one pound.”

Philadelphia Say, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, booking photo posted May 17, 2016 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News
Philadelphia Say, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, booking photo posted May 17, 2016 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

Yang and Philadelphia were both arrested and transported to the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

The Washington County Attorney’s Office filed an information in 5th District Court accusing Yang and Philadelphia of third-degree felony drug possession with the intent to distribute and class B misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia.

Both men are expected to appear before 5th District Judge John Walton for a status of counsel hearing Monday afternoon.

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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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

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3 Comments

  • ladybugavenger May 23, 2016 at 11:13 am

    As the 10,000 pounds in the uhaul a mile back got away lol

    • fun bag May 23, 2016 at 3:40 pm

      10,000 pounds is a good haul. one of the advantages of having an open border with mexico, eh?

  • chupacabra May 24, 2016 at 11:49 pm

    I am so sick of these thugs running around and spreading their mind numbing drugs. Police should stick to preserving our liberties, not trampling on them. The drug of statism is a powerful hallucinogen, causing the vast majority to fall complacent to the police state in which we live.

    The war on drugs is nothing more than a war on brown people and a money making machine for the courts and prison complex. End the violence, allow free trade of goods and services.

    Google Voluntaryism

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