CEDAR CITY — Two alleged drug traffickers were arrested in Cedar City after law enforcement officers found a bag containing approximately 1,000 fentanyl pills inside their vehicle during a traffic stop late Tuesday night.
Joshua Marlow, 20, and Juan Valencia, 28, were booked into Iron County Jail early Wednesday on suspicion of multiple charges, including possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, a second-degree felony, along with misdemeanor charges of drug possession and possession of paraphernalia.
Marlow, who was driving the car, also faces one count of driving on a suspended or revoked license, in addition to a brake light violation. Valencia, who was a passenger in the back seat, was also cited for not wearing a seat belt.
According to a probable cause statement filed in support of the pair’s arrests, at approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday, a Utah Highway Patrol trooper initiated a traffic stop on their vehicle, which was heading northbound on Interstate 15 at Exit 59 in Cedar City.
The trooper wrote in the affidavit that he pulled the vehicle over because its brake lights had appeared to be “significantly dimmer” than those of other vehicles, due to tinting that had been applied to them.
When the trooper initiated the traffic stop, the vehicle didn’t immediately pull over, he said, but instead got off at the next exit and went into a truck stop parking lot.
“During my traffic stop, I became suspicious that additional criminal activity was occurring and called for the assistance of a police service dog,” the arresting trooper wrote.
The K-9 reportedly detected the presence of drugs inside the car, after which a probable cause search was performed. During the search, a bag containing a quarter pound of suspected fentanyl pills was located inside an air vent in the center console. The bag contained approximately 1,000 pills, according to the affidavit.
Both Marlow and Valencia were on probation and had outstanding warrants at the time of their arrest, according to the charging documents. They each made their initial court appearance Thursday before 5th District Judge Matthew L. Bell.
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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