On 1/6/23 at approximately 11:00 a.m., I initiated a traffic stop on a black Nissan Altima for traveling in the left lane for too long and impeding traffic. I approached the vehicle and told them who I was and the reason I stopped them. I spoke with the driver and passenger. I asked for the drivers’ license and if the car was his. They told me it was a rental, but they did not have a rental agreement. The driver, Gian Martinez, seemed nervous as he handed me his license; his hand was shaking. I asked fora rental agreement, and they told me they did not have one. I asked who rented the vehicle, and the passenger, Brandon Dalton, said “Ugh, my mom.” I asked them what brought them through Arkansas, and they said just traveling. Dalton told me they were headed to North Carolina, and they were coming from Texas. I had the driver pull forward to a safer location past the guardrail they parked at originally. I approached the vehicle again and asked Mr. Dalton to have his mother send a picture of the rental agreement, and he told me she was at work and could not do it at the moment.
I had the driver step out of the vehicle to speak with me. I asked Mr. Martinez why they came through Arkansas. He told me they were traveling from Dallas where they visited family. They stayed for two days and were traveling back to North Carolina. I asked how he knew the passengers, and he said they were good friends. I asked if they went to high school together, and he originally said yes. Mr. Martinez later changed his story to they all met up in Concord, NC. After speaking with Mr. Martinez, he told me the back passenger, Favian Barraza, was his stepbrother. Mr. Martinez told me that he did not really know Mr. Dalton, and they just met not long ago. Mr. Martinez told me that Mr. Dalton and Mr. Barraza were good friends. I asked what all they had in the trunk, and he told me luggage and an air pump. I asked if he had any marijuana, and his face had a concerned expression on it. I asked if he had any cocaine, and his response was to laugh as he answered, and he had the same response when I asked if there was any fentanyl. I asked for consent to search the vehicle after speaking with the driver. He asked if I wanted to search the front of the car, and I told him I was interested in searching the trunk, and he denied me consent to search.
I called for Sgt. Chase Melder to come to assist with his canine Pavatt. I returned to speak to Mr. Dalton in front of the suspect’s vehicle. I asked him how he knew Mr. Martinez and Mr. Barraza. He said they were his buddies, and I asked him if they grew up together, and he said, "Yeah, basically." He said they are all from the same area in North Carolina. I pointed out that Mr. Martinez is from Florida, and Mr. Dalton said, "Yeah, that’s where he is from." That did not make sense from his original statements. I asked Mr. Dalton where they were coming from again, and he said from around Dallas, to look for something to do. His reason for the trip was different from Mr. Martinez; also, his answer to how they knew each other was different from Mr. Martinez’s answer. I had the other two passengers, Brandon Dalton and Favian Barraza, exit the vehicle. I spoke with Mr. Barraza in front of the vehicle. I asked him how he knew the two others. He told me Mr. Martinez was his stepbrother, and he did not know Mr. Dalton too well. He also told me that the other two asked him to come on a trip to Dallas with them.
Canine Pavatt alerted to the odor of narcotics, and we searched the vehicle. In the trunk, I located a large duffle bag with vacuum-sealed bundles of suspected marijuana. Also, scattered throughout multiple backpacks, there were several vacuum sealed packages of THC products and a zip-lock baggie with THC edibles under the passenger seat. The total weight was 30pounds of marijuana and THC products. The evidence was turned over to Agent XXXXXXXX with the 5th Judicial Drug Task Force. The total weight was approximately 30 pounds. For further information on the case refer to DTF case file 23-005P.The three suspects were arrested and transported to Pope County Detention Center. They were charged with the following:5-64-436(b)(2): POSSESS W PURPOSE DEL CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE SCHED VI5-64-443(a)(2): POSSESS DRUG PARAPHERNALIA
7 май 2024
