MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – The Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force arrested a Santa Rosa man and seized methamphetamine and Vicodin tablets following a traffic stop this week.
Lt. Steve Brooks said 51-year-old Peter Jessie Molina was arrested on Monday night.
At 10:45 p.m. Monday a narcotics detective observed a vehicle traveling in front of him on south bound Highway 29, just south of Middletown. The vehicle crossed over the double yellow lines on three occasions. The detective also observed the vehicle cross over the fog line several times, Brooks said.
The narcotics detective conducted an enforcement stop on the vehicle at the intersection of Highway 29 and Shady Grove in Middletown. He contacted Molina, who Brooks said was the driver.
Brooks said Central Dispatch conducted a records check of Molina and advised that his driving privileges were suspended and he had two warrants for his arrest.
As the narcotics detective was speaking to Molina, he noticed Molina appeared to be very nervous. Molina denied having anything illegal in the vehicle. Molina was detained for the warrants and driving on the suspended license, Brooks said.
The detective deployed his narcotics detection K9, who has been trained specifically for detecting the odor of five different controlled substances. Brooks said the K9 alerted to the odor of narcotics coming from inside the vehicle.
The detective located four plastic bags. Two of the plastic bags contained a white crystalline substance and other two bags contained an orange colored crystalline substance, Brooks said.
The detective recognized the contents of the bags to be methamphetamine. There was also a glass “meth” pipe containing a white and brown residue and 16 Vicodin tablets located with the methamphetamine, according to Brooks. Molina admitted the methamphetamine was his and he was going to Clearlake to sell it.
The narcotics detective tested the crystalline substance using a narcotics identification kit. The test flashed blue, indicating a presumptive positive for methamphetamine. The approximate weight of all four bags of methamphetamine was 52.4 grams. Brooks said the estimated street value of the methamphetamine is $5,240.
Molina was arrested for possession of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, possession of a specified controlled substance, possession or purchase for sale of a specified controlled substance, transportation of a specified controlled substance and possession of controlled substance paraphernalia. He was transported to the Lake County Hill Road Correctional Facility and booked.
The Sheriff’s Narcotics can be contacted through its anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.