ST. GEORGE — A suspect arrested Saturday on charges of misdemeanor DUI by an officer on St. George Boulevard now faces additional charges – including a felony drug offense – after an officer found baggies of methamphetamine in his patrol vehicle where the suspect was reportedly sitting.
According to a police statement filed in support of the arrest, shortly before 11 p.m., an officer noticed a vehicle heading east at a high rate of speed on St. George Boulevard. The suspect’s speed was later confirmed to be 49 mph through radar in a 30 mph zone.
The officer stopped the car and spoke to the driver who reportedly provided false information to the officer, as well as an incorrect spelling of his name. A database search identified the man as 29-year-old Christopher Parra.
When the corrected information was run through a background check, the officer found four active warrants for the driver’s arrest. The officer also reported a strong odor of alcohol and marijuana coming from the suspect.
The driver was given a field sobriety test, which he failed, and he was arrested for suspected DUI. The officer noted that Parra had been convicted of DUI in 2016, as well as another DUI-related case involving an interlock device that is still pending with the courts.
He was transported to the annex building and spoke to officers, who determined Parra was actually under the limit according to his blood alcohol content, which was .047, but the report states the combination of the alcohol and marijuana caused the impairment.
The suspect was booked into jail facing three misdemeanors, including DUI, giving false personal identity to a peace officer and driving on a suspended license.
Meanwhile, the officer returned to his patrol vehicle to search the rear seat, a practice which is done following every arrest or transport to check for anything possibly left by an arrestee.
“As soon as I opened the door, I observed two small blue Ziploc bags on the floor board where Christopher was seated,” the officer noted, adding the baggies contained a white substance consistent with meth.
When the officer returned to the jail and with the two baggies, Parra reportedly denied knowing the drugs were in the back seat.
The report states the back-seat area was searched three hours earlier when the officer had a prior DUI transport and prior to transporting Parra to jail. As such, Parra faces additional charges, including felony possession of a controlled substance, enhanced after the officer found a 2017 conviction for drug distribution during a check of the suspect’s criminal history, as well as two misdemeanor charges that were also added, including possession of paraphernalia and tampering with evidence, as the officer said Parra was attempting to hinder the investigation by hiding the drugs.
On Monday, the listed charges were filed by the Washington County Attorney’s Office.
Ed. Note: A new Utah law generally prohibits the release of arrest booking photos until after a conviction is obtained.
This report is based on statements from court documents and law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings. 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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