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UHP: Speeding traffic stop leads to discovery of drugs, fraud, stolen car

Posted at 7:38 PM, Jul 07, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-07 21:38:43-04

CEDAR CITY, Utah — A man was arrested Friday after being pulled over for speeding, then being found in possession of a stolen car, drugs and evidence of fraud, police say.

Joshua Gene McGowan, 27, of Riverside, California, was arrested and booked into the Iron County Jail and faces one count of mail theft, one count of possessing/transferring a stolen vehicle, one count of providing false information to a police officer and four misdemeanor drug-related charges, St. George News reported.

Utah Highway Patrol said a McGowan was pulled over going 94 miles per hour on Interstate 15 in Iron County. The trooper smelled marijuana in the car and McGowan admitted to smoking the day before, then gave the trooper permission to search his car.

Upon the search, the UHP trooper found drugs and drug paraphernalia, credit card skimmers, fraudulent checks and other documents in others’ names, according to police reports. Two credit cards were also found in his name — McGowan had initially given the trooper a fake driver’s license in a different name — and McGowan eventually admitted they were his, police wrote in the report.

Police say they also discovered that the car he was driving was stolen and that McGowan had a warrant in California.

Read the full story as reported by St. George News here.