Hemet stop leads to large amount of meth, heroin
HEMET — A routine Hemet traffic enforcement stop led to the discovery of a significant amount of methamphetamine and heroin, as well as the arrest of a felon who was driving the vehicle and in possession of the drugs, Wednesday evening, Feb. 20.
LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:
UPDATE: Body of missing Idyllwild man, 62, found
According to a Hemet PD social media release, a City of Hemet police officer was patrolling the 400 block of N. Palm Ave. just before 9:30 p.m., when he observed a driver make a traffic violation. The officer stopped the car, which had three occupants inside it.
During the traffic stop, the officer conducted a records check of the driver, later identified as Joseph Angelo Navas, 52, of Hemet. Records indicated Nava was a felon on Post-Release Community Supervision probation.
Based on Nava’s probation terms, officers conducted a search of the man’s car at which time they discovered “several baggies containing a significant quantity of both methamphetamine and heroin,” Hemet Police Lt. Nate Miller later explained.
Some of the drug-filled baggies had Halloween images of Jack-O-Lanterns and with the words “Trick or Treat” on them, as if they were meant to entice children.
In total, officers located over a half-pound of methamphetamine and over 50 grams of street-level heroin. Officers also found items indicative of drug sales.
Navas was eventually booked into Cois Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on suspicion of drug related offenses and PRCS probation violations. Jail records indicate he remains in custody and is being held without bail. He was scheduled to be arraigned this morning at Southwest Justice Center.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.
Pingback: One hospitalized after Hemet fight, shooting – Riverside County News Source