By Kelsey Givens
Narcotics detectives discovered more than 100 grams of methamphetamine inside one man’s vehicle last week after they were reportedly tipped off by a confidential informant that the alleged supplier was making a run into Pahrump.
Roque Lara-Aguilar, aka Jorge Garcia or Rocky, 34, was taken into custody after Nye County Sheriff’s deputies pulled him over off Manse Road and discovered approximately 105 grams of methamphetamine inside 13 individually packaged bags in his vehicle.
According to a press release issued by NCSO, narcotics detectives had recently begun an investigation into Lara-Aguilar as they believed the alleged methamphetamine trafficker was supplying the controlled substance to several well known meth dealers in Pahrump.
On Jan. 23, a confidential informant working with detectives told police that Lara-Aguilar was enroute to Pahrump to deliver methamphetamine, giving officers time to get in position to conduct a traffic stop with the suspect vehicle once it entered town.
As Lara-Aguilar drove into the area, deputies pulled him over and he was detained for questioning.
His vehicle was subsequently transported to the NCSO impound lot where Det. Trevor Meade then obtained a search warrant to look through it for the drugs he believed were inside.
During his search, the narcotics detective reportedly found 13 individually packaged bags inside Lara-Aguilar’s vehicle, ranging in size from 1 ounce, or 28 grams, to an 8-ball, or 3.5 grams. Altogether Meade found approximately 105 grams or one-fourth of a pound of methamphetamine inside the suspect’s car.
Police also reportedly found Lara-Aguilar’s cell phone during their search, which contained the numbers of many Pahrump meth dealers such as “Andrea.”
As deputies questioned Lara-Aguilar while he was detained, the man allegedly admitted to a sergeant on scene that he was in the country illegally. The only identification he had on him at the time of his arrest was a Mexican ID card from the state of Zacatecas, and immigration was contacted about Lara-Aguilar’s immigration status.
Lara-Aguilar was subsequently arrested and transported to the Nye County Detention Center where he was booked into custody on charges of trafficking methamphetamine.
His bail was set at $25,000 and he remained in custody as of Wednesday.
Lara-Aguilar could also be facing additional trafficking charges based on information that will be submitted to the Nye County District Attorney’s Office by detectives from previous covert cases they conducted involving Lara-Aguilar.
NCSO is not releasing the man’s mugshot at this time.
Darn! He was almost going to be granted amnesty. He’s just another ‘undocumented worker’ trying to feed his family.
Another illegal “Just doing the jobs Americans won’t do”
Do we REALLY want amnesty? Do we wonder why people don’t want to make illegals legit overnight?
This is a huge failure of our judicial system.
Bail at $25,000 for someone trafficking meth, presumably from Mexico, and in the country illegally? Think about that. 25k to that type of dealer might be like $1000 to you and me.
I guess they don’t want to keep in custody. Not a flight risk or anything.
desert cat~ He’ll pay a $2500 bond and he’s off to Mexico. But he’ll be back with different ID.
IF he can find a Bail/Bondsman who will bond him. I doubt he will because of the flight risk. But….?
Catch and release at it’s finest. So much for all the talk about securing our border.
I’ll bet his contact list and local phone numbers are worth their weight in gold. Let’s clean up this town!
No doubt his guy will be out on bail soon enough. Heck, even I could afford a lousy $2500 if it meant fleeing back to my home country and escaping A “possible” jail time. I blame our elected judges for putting some of the lowest, ridiculous bail amounts on some of these criminals we have here in town! Like this guy, NCSO goes through the possible lengthy and no doubt risky process of getting an informant to bust this guy, take him into custody, fortunately without any incident, and in the process takes 3.75 ounces of meth off the street. Yay, oh wait, Tunbleweed’s probably right. he’ll just do it all over again. I think it’s about time our local judges start handing down some higher bails and some stiffer punishments for the criminals in this town. Otherwise I’m going to be voting for Mickey Mouse next election and not an incumbent!
P.S. Great job, NCSO! Keep up the good work! I support your every effort in getting rid of every gram of meth out of this town. That alone would alleviate a lot of crime in this town.