CEDAR CITY — Two people were arrested for drug possession on Sunday morning after being stopped for speeding north of Cedar City.
Booked into Iron County Jail were Cesar Najera, 24, and Marley Muniz, 18. Both are residents of Southern California, according to court documents.
According to a probable cause statement filed in support of their arrests, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper observed a northbound vehicle traveling at “an extremely high rate of speed” on Interstate 15 shortly before 7 a.m. Sunday.
“I visually estimated their speed to be in excess of 110 mph in an 80 mph zone,” the arresting trooper wrote in the affidavit.
After the trooper pulled out onto the roadway in order to get a speed measurement via his patrol vehicle’s forward-facing radar, he said he noticed the driver “brake extremely hard.”
Even after the driver’s apparent attempt to slow down, the vehicle’s speed was still clocked at 97 mph, the trooper wrote.
After pulling the vehicle over near mile marker 67, the trooper said he noticed a woman lying down on the rear seat without her seat belt on.
“The driver informed me that he did not have a driver license and only had a permit,” the trooper added.
Suspicious of further criminal activity, the trooper performed a consent search of the vehicle, which reportedly yielded the following:
- Approximately 4.5 pounds of bulk narcotics that later tested positive for methamphetamine
- A quantity of marijuana on the back floorboards, plus various paraphernalia
- A total of eight blue pills, suspected to be fentanyl, inside the woman’s purse
Najera and Muniz each face charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony, in addition to misdemeanor counts of possession of drugs and paraphernalia.
Najera, who as of Wednesday remained held in Iron County Jail without bail and also faces one count of speeding, made his initial court appearance on Tuesday before 5th District Judge Ann Marie McIff Allen. He has a roll call hearing next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Muniz made her initial court appearance on Wednesday before Judge Matthew L. Bell, with a roll call hearing scheduled for next Tuesday as well.
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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