CEDAR CITY, Utah — Officers found drugs in the vehicle of a driver who was stopped on Interstate 15 in Iron County on Thursday for having excessively tinted windows.
According to arrest documents obtained by FOX 13 News, Angel Ramon Mendoza, 25, was driving north on I-15 in Cedar City shortly before 10 a.m. when a Utah Highway Patrol trooper saw that he had window tint darker than the legal limit.
The trooper pulled Mendoza over about 3 miles north of Cedar City and reportedly gained his permission to search the car after spotting a "green leafy substance" inside.
After discovering a specialized tool in Mendoza's vehicle's trunk, the officer used it to remove the upholstery clips from a side panel and discovered multiple packages of what appeared to be drugs, according to the trooper's statement.
In total, 9 pounds of methamphetamine and 78 grams of marijuana were found inside the car, according to the report.
The tinting on the right front passenger window was found to be too dark for state regulations, measuring 27 percent. A vehicle's front side windows must allow in at least 43 percent of light under current Utah law.
Mendoza was arrested and brought into the Iron County Jail on accusations of drug possession and paraphernalia, driving without insurance, and driving with obstructed vision.
A trial date had not yet been set at the time this article was published.
