LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A sheriff’s deputy arrested a Clearlake man last weekend for marijuana possession and transportation, as well as obstruction of a peace officer following a vehicle stop, with the man later found to have methamphetamine during a jail search.
James Jeffrey Peng, 52, was arrested following the stop, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.
At 8 p.m. last Saturday, Oct. 19, a deputy was patrolling the area of Highway 53, between Lower Lake and Clearlake, when he noticed a Chevy pickup traveling northbound on Highway 53, exhibiting multiple vehicle code violations, Brooks said.
The deputy activated his emergency lights to conduct an enforcement stop in the area between Dam Road and 18th Avenue, Brooks said. The pickup continued northbound and passed a vehicle which had already yielded to the deputy, by pulling over to the right side of the road.
Brooks said the deputy activated his siren and the vehicle continued northbound and then turned east onto 18th Avenue. The pickup passed a second vehicle which had already yielded to the deputy by pulling over.
The pickup continued and finally pulled over in the parking lot of the St. Helena Hospital in Clearlake,
Brooks said.
As the deputy exited his patrol vehicle, he noticed the subject was drinking a liquid substance and appeared to have swallowed something other than the liquid, Brooks said. The deputy identified the driver as Peng.
Peng then stated, “I panicked because I sell weed,” according to Brooks' report.
The deputy said when he approached the vehicle he could smell the strong odor of marijuana coming from the inside of the pickup, Brooks said.
The deputy searched the vehicle and located a duffle bag on the passenger seat. Inside the duffle bag, Brooks said the deputy located 17 plastic bags containing processed marijuana of varying weight and quality, which were seized.
Brooks said the deputy also located a scale and a calculator in close proximity to the duffle bag, which he also seized. The combined weight of all the marijuana was 2.8 pounds.
Peng said the reason he did not pull over was because he thought the deputy was trying to pull over someone else who was traveling in front of him, Brooks said. Peng also said he panicked, because he had a half smoked joint in his mouth and was trying to chew it up and swallow it.
He then told the deputy that he pulled into the parking lot at the hospital because he felt it was a safe place to stop. Brooks said Peng told the deputy that he had to drink something to help wash the chewed marijuana down because it tasted bad.
Peng was arrested for the possession of marijuana for sales, transportation of marijuana and obstructing or delaying a peace officer. Peng was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility for booking, Brooks said.
During the intake process at the jail a correctional officer located a small bag containing methamphetamine in Peng’s pocket. Brooks said the additional charges of possession of a controlled substance and bringing a controlled substance into a jail were added during Peng’s booking.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.