Posted by Travis Uresk | Nov. 2nd, 2022 | Sex Offender & Drugs |
By Travis Uresk
11/2/22
Vernal, Ut.- On 10/21/22, A Chrysler 300 was traveling North on SR 191, and a Chevy pickup was turning left onto SR 191 from 500 East. The Chevy truck failed to yield to the Chrysler, and the Chrysler hit the Chevy on the driver's side.
Witnesses at the scene informed the Officer the Chevy pulled out in front of the Chrysler and could not stop. Witnesses also told the Officer they saw the male driver of the truck throwing items out of his truck into the bushes.
As the Officer approached the truck, the driver's door was open, and he saw a black Rocky Mountain Cannabis container on the floorboard. When Officer Searle opened the container, a white oval pill was inside, later identified as Gabapentin.
While speaking with the driver of the truck, he told the Officer his name was Joseph Scott King. Joseph told the Officer when he was entering the highway from 500 East, his truck stalled, and the car hit him.
Officer Searle asked Joseph what he threw in the bushes, and he replied, "nothing." Joseph was then informed witnesses saw him removing items from his truck and throwing them in the bushes. King then told the Officer he removed a can of duster cleaner and hid it in the bushes. The Officer asked King if he had been inhaling the duster cleaner, and he said he wasn't but his female passenger had been.
King was asked if he had been using marijuana, and Joseph replied he had a medical marijuana card and had used that morning. Officer Searle asked King if he had a prescription for Gabapentin, and he said he did not know about the Gabapentin in the marijuana container.
Due to the circumstances, the Officer became suspicious King was driving under the influence and had him perform field sobriety tests and observed the following:
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus: During the medical screening, King informed me he needed glasses but could see my finger. King informed me he was only taking medical marijuana as a medication. King informed me he had minor pain in his left shoulder and had surgery on his right foot two years ago. I observed King had equal tracking. During the test, I did not observe any clues. I did observe King had bloodshot eyes, and his eyes would twitch randomly during the test.
Lack of Convergence: King's eyes converged equally on this test. Nine-Step Walk and Turn: I explained and demonstrated this test and asked King if anything was preventing him from performing the test. King informed me that he was cold. King performed the test and I observed the following clues. King failed to maintain the instructional stage position, took eight steps instead of nine of the first set, and performed an improper turn. I observed three of the eight clues on this test. One Leg Stand: I explained and demonstrated this test. I asked King if he could perform this test, and he informed me he could but was cold. On this test, I observed King sway from side to side. I observed one of the four clues on this test.
Modified Romberg: King estimated the passing of thirty seconds in twenty-two seconds. During the test, I observed King sway from front to back and had consistent eyelid tremors in both eyes. I had King blow into my preliminary breath test, and he tested negative for alcohol.
Officer Searle performed a records check on King and found he was on probation and a registered sex offender. The Paramedics on the scene had transported King's passenger to the hospital; she was only 14 years old.
Kings Probation Officer told Deputy Pratt he was not supposed to be in contact with anyone under eighteen without his agent's written consent.
Officer Searle asked King why he was out there with a juvenile. King replied, "she had called him to come to pick her up at the Honda Hills, and she was walking down a dirt road when he got there."
The Officer asked King how he knew her, and he said she was a friend of an ex-family member.
King was then placed under arrest and transported to Ashley Regional Medical Center for medical clearance and a blood draw.
While at the hospital, Officer Searle spoke with the Mother of the female juvenile, and she explained her daughter was supposed to be with friends at the haunted woods and not with King.
The Mother explained to the Officer that King had sexual relations with her daughter when she was only twelve.
Officer Searle spoke with the juvenile with her Mother's permission. She informed the Officer that she and King were driving around doing donuts at the Honda Hills. He then asked her if she was inhaling the duster cleaner, and she said, "King and I both were."
Officer Searle then began to ask her questions about her and King's relationship, and she said she was done answering questions.
The Uintah County Sheriff's Office was contacted, and they agreed to investigate further into King's sexual relationship with the 14-year-old juvenile.
King was booked into the Uintah County Jail on charges of driving under the influence with a juvenile in the vehicle, possession of a prescribed substance not in its prescribed container, obstruction of justice, possession and/or use of psychotoxic chemical solvents, and failed to yield the right of way.
Vernal Sex Offenders:
