Traffic Stop for Tailgating Ends in Drug Arrest

| by Travis Uresk | July 11^th 2026 |

Uintah County (7/10/26)—Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Searle was patrolling on US-40 near mile marker 157 when he noticed a red Toyota Scion tailgating a truck and horse trailer.

As the truck and trailer passed the trooper's driver's-side mirror, the Toyota was roughly 1 second behind the horse trailer. The trooper decided to initiate a traffic stop for following dangerously too closely.

The driver, 21-year-old Angel S. Garcia Rico, provided his insurance and registration. During the discussion, Trooper Searle detected a noticeable odor of marijuana coming from the car.

The trooper could see that the front passenger had a green rubber hose similar to those used in bongs. The trooper asked the passenger for her ID and learned she was a juvenile. He then asked them both if they had medical marijuana cards, to which they both replied no.

The two were asked to exit the vehicle. When the juvenile got out, the trooper noticed she had a knife and a bulge in her front right pocket. She was asked to remove the contents from her pockets. She removed a lighter and two THC vape pens.

The trooper searched the vehicle and discovered an open Lookah electric bong missing its green hose under the driver's seat, along with an orange cream Mary Jones THC soda, a Seed & Smith container with three pre-rolls, a container of Leiffa Hawaiian plushers THC resin, one green THC vape pen, and one pink THC vape pen.

On the rear passenger seat, there was a receipt from Rocky Mountain Cannabis listing Rico as the customer and showing purchases he made. All items matched those listed on the receipt, except for a berry lemonade Mary Jones THC soda.

In the front passenger seat area, there was the missing green rubber hose for the bong, and a pink purse on the floorboard. Inside the purse, the trooper found IDs and other belongings of the juvenile, as well as a container with one THC pre-roll, one THC vape pen, one empty purple THC pre-roll container, and one Mary Jones Berry Lemonade THC soda. This soda matched the missing item from Rico's receipt.

Rico was read his Miranda rights, and when asked about the marijuana products, he claimed ownership. However, he denied knowledge of the items found in the juvenile's purse and expressed uncertainty about the berry lemonade soda.

Trooper Searle contacted the juvenile's parents, who requested that he not question her any further.

Rico was arrested for possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and child endangerment. During a search of his person, another THC vape pen was found in his front left pocket.

Trooper Ryan transported Rico to the Uintah County Jail, where he was booked at 6:11 PM.