Felon arrested after Cottonwood traffic stop uncovers meth & $1,200 cash
COTTONWOOD, Calif., — Authorities say a felon who was already on PRCS probation for a prior drug sales conviction was arrested again after a traffic stop in the unincorporated community of Cottonwood uncovered methamphetamine and more than $1,200 in US currency Saturday afternoon, July 24.
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Shasta County Sheriff’s deputies were on patrol in the Cottonwood area south of Redding around 3 p.m. when a deputy spotted a Nissan Maxima traveling northbound on Interstate 5 and performed a traffic enforcement stop for multiple vehicle code violations, Shasta County Sheriff’s Sergeant K. Koenen said after the traffic stop and arrest.
Joshua Ochoa was arrested after Shasta County Sheriff’s K-9 “Fritz” alerted to the presence of narcotics inside a vehicle the PRCS probationer was stopped in while driving in the Cottonwood area yesterday. After Fritz’s alert, deputies discovered more than seven and a half ounces of methamphetamine and more than $1,200 cash. SCSO photos
The driver of the vehicle, Joshua Darrell Ochoa, was found to have a suspended driver’s license and deputies learned he was currently on Post Release Community Supervision for a prior narcotics sales conviction.
Shasta County Sheriff’s K-9 “Fritz” was requested to the scene of the stop to perform a “free-air sniff” of the exterior of the vehicle, according to Koenen; who said Fritz alerted his handler to the presence of the odor of a controlled substance emitting from inside the vehicle.
During a subsequent search of the vehicle, deputies discovered over seven and a half ounces of methamphetamine and more than $1200 in US currency, leading deputies to believe Ochoa was involved in sales of controlled substances, according to the Sergeant.
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Ochoa was arrested and booked into the Shasta County Jail in Redding on suspicion of possession of controlled substances for sale, PRCS violations, and driving on a suspended driver license.
Online jail records indicate he has since been released from custody.
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Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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 30 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 18 grandchildren.