Driving with no headlights ends in felony arrest on St. George Boulevard

Stock image | Photo by Matt Gush/iStock/Getty Images Plus, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A traffic stop for driving without headlights on St. George Boulevard turned into a felony arrest after officers found narcotics in the vehicle, along with bank and identification cards that did not belong to the driver, late Thursday night.

On Thursday shortly after 10 p.m., an officer stopped a vehicle on St. George Boulevard for driving without any headlights or taillights.

During the stop, the driver was identified as 31-year-old Eric Albert by his driver’s license issued out of Washington State, which the officer discovered through a records check had been revoked, according to charging documents filed with the court.

A K-9 unit also responded to assist, and during a sweep around the outside of the car, the dog indicated to the possible presence of narcotics.

Albert consented to a search of his person and of the vehicle, which is when the officer found three bank cards and a California Driver’s License, none of which were issued to the suspect.

Eric Albert, 31, of Ivins, booking photo taken in Washington County, Utah, Aug. 27, 2020 | Photo courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, St. George News

During a search of the vehicle, officers located a white cylindrical tube with a white crystalline substance inside that later tested positive as methamphetamine using a presumptive field test.

While speaking with the driver, Albert told police that he found the bank cards and driver’s license and had yet to attempt to return them to their owners, the report states, and denied having any knowledge there was methamphetamine and paraphernalia in the car.

The suspect was arrested and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility facing three counts of acquisition of a financial transaction. He also faces one count of possession of an identification document for the driver’s license, possession of methamphetamine, possession of paraphernalia and driving on a suspended license, each a misdemeanor.

The bail amount initially set at $5,010 when the suspect was booked. The following day, charges were filed and his bail was set at $20,120.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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