Hall County sheriff’s investigators confiscated thousands of dollars of illegal drugs after tracking down a driver at home who fled from a traffic stop, the sheriff’s office says.
According to a news release, deputies observed a westbound pickup truck straddling the double yellow line on Mountain View Road at approximately 1 a.m. on Monday, August 12. They followed the vehicle until losing sight of it on Tumbling Creek Road. Deputies then located the pickup in a parking lot in the 2000 block of West Park Drive.
“When they attempted to speak with the driver, ordering him to roll his window down, he put the pickup in reverse and drove away,” says Hall County Sheriff’s Public Information Officer Derreck Booth.
Booth says deputies pursued the truck and lost sight of it again around GA 13/Atlanta Highway and Thurmond Tanner Parkway.
Deputies identified the driver as 22-year-old Rodolfo Rodriguez-Puentes of Gainesville. They obtained arrest warrants for him on seven traffic violations.
Later Monday morning, Booth says, deputies went to Rodriguez-Puentes’ residence in the 2000 block of South Oaks Drive to serve the warrants. While there, “another occupant of the home led deputies into the garage where they located the pickup truck and a bag of marijuana on a shelf in plain view,” says Booth.
Deputies arrested Rodriguez-Puentes on the traffic offenses, including felony fleeing. They then contacted the Special Investigations Unit at the sheriff’s office, which obtained a search warrant for the home.
Over $61K in drugs seized
During the search, investigators say they seized more than 1,700 Xanax pills and 327 THC cartridges. Investigators also confiscated over four pounds of marijuana, four firearms, and roughly $7,000 cash, says Booth.
The combined street value of the drugs is roughly $61,900.
Investigators obtained additional arrest warrants and charged Rodriguez-Perez with four felony drug counts, including possession with intent to distribute a Schedule IV drug, THC, and marijuana. They also charged him with possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime.
In addition, he faces charges of DUI alcohol, speeding, illegal passing, reckless driving, crossing the gore, and failure to maintain lane.
As of Wednesday afternoon, August 14, Rodriguez-Puentes remained in the Hall County Detention Center without bond.
