An 18-year-old Saltillo woman and 26-year-old Alabama man were reportedly arrested for THC possession following two unrelated traffic stops by sheriff’s officers Wednesday night.
Hopkins County Sheriff’s Investigator Wade Sheets arrested Felicia Renee Valenzuela of Saltillo at 9:29 p.m. Aug. 28 on Houston Street at League Street for possession of 4 grams or more but less than 400 grams of a Penalty Group 2 controlled substance.
Valenzuela was reportedly a passenger in a Mitsubishi Lance Sheets stopped for a traffic violation. On contact with the vehicle’s occupants, Sheets reported an “overwhelming odor of marijuana” emitted from the vehicle. Valenzuela allegedly admitted to being in possession of THC gummies. A search of the vehicle revealed the woman to also be in possession of a vaping device containing a THC cartridge, Sheets alleged in arrest reports.
When Valenzuela was placed into custody, she admitted to being in possession of two pre-rolled blunts. Sheriff’s deputies transported the woman to jail for THC possession; the vehicle and other occupants were released. The packaged THC gummies and cartridge weighed 22.8 grams, Sheets alleged in arrest reports.
Valenzuela remained in Hopkins County jail Thursday morning, Aug. 29. Bond was set at $20,000 on the controlled substance charge, according to jail reports.
At 11:22 p.m., Deputy Thomas Patterson arrested 26-year-old Matthew Darren Walter Sims of Hamilton, Alabama on Interstate 30 west at mile marker 124 for possession of 4 grams or more but less than 400 grams of a Penalty Group 2 controlled substance.
Patterson reported stopping Sim at 10:48 p.m. after noticing the license plate lights on the Pontiac Grand Prix he was in weren’t working. During the course of the stop, Patterson asked and was refused permission to search the car.
The deputy deployed his narcotic detection canine for an open air sniff around the exterior of the car. The dog alerted at the passenger’s side door to the odor of an illegal narcotic substance, Patterson alleged.
A search of the car allegedly revealed a clear vape pen canister with suspected THC oil inside of it. Sims was taken to jail for controlled substance possession. The container, seized as evidence, field tested positive for tetrahydocannabinol (THC) and weighed, including packaging, of 9.2 grams, Patterson alleged in arrest reports.
Sims remained in the county jail Thursday morning, Aug. 29. Bond was set at $20,000 on the controlled substance charge, according to jail reports.
