LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A vehicle stop conducted Thursday night has resulted in one arrest and the seizure of nearly 8 ounces of methamphetamine.
Jose Eugenio Cabrera, 23, of West Sacramento was arrested following the stop, according to Lt. Steve Brooks.
On Thursday at 11:15 p.m. a patrol deputy noticed a vehicle traveling westbound on Highway 20 in Nice, which had a defective brake light. Brooks said the deputy conducted an enforcement stop of the vehicle, which pulled into the parking lot of the Robinson Casino.
The deputy contacted the driver, who was identified as 25-year-old Tory Patrick Hogan of Nice. While talking to Hogan, the deputy smelled the odor of marijuana emitting from inside the vehicle, Brooks said.
Brooks said the deputy contacted the front passenger, who was identified as Cabrera, and a rear passenger, who was identified as 19-year-old Gregory Lee Symon, both of West Sacramento. The deputy had all three subjects exit the vehicle and step back to his patrol car.
The deputy explained that he could smell marijuana and asked if he would find any illegal drugs inside the vehicle. Cabrera said the only thing inside the vehicle was a small amount of marijuana. The deputy obtained consent to search all three subjects and did not find any weapons or contraband, Brooks said.
Brooks said Cabrera said the vehicle belonged to him and provided the deputy with consent to search the vehicle.
A K-9 unit arrived on scene to assist with the enforcement stop. Brooks said the K-9 deputy deployed his partner to conduct a sniff of the vehicle. The canine provided a positive alert to the area under the front passenger seat, indicating that the odor of a controlled substance was present.
Deputies searched the vehicle and noticed a lock box under the front passenger seat, which was locked. When the deputy searched all three subjects, he remembered that Cabrera was wearing a lanyard around his neck containing keys, Brooks said. He removed the keys from Cabrera and used them to open the box under the seat.
Inside the box, the deputy located two plastic bags containing a large amount of a white crystalline substance which was determined to be methamphetamine, Brooks said. Also inside the box was a glass methamphetamine pipe. A small amount of marijuana was also located inside the vehicle.
Cabrera was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, being under the influence of a controlled substance and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia, according to Brooks.
Brooks said Cabrera was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked. Jail records indicated he remained in custody on Friday, with bail set at $35,000.
Hogan and Symon were released at the scene, Brooks said.
The methamphetamine was later weighed and determined to have a combined gross weight of 7.75 ounces. If sold at the street level, the methamphetamine would be worth approximately $22,000.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force can be reached through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.