Aurora police arrest Colorado teen found with 10,000 fentanyl pills in vehicle
A new traffic law in Aurora helped police get a significant amount of deadly drugs off the street in the Colorado city.
Officer Mary Fernandez was on patrol when she noticed a car that appeared to be moving unusually slowly. She ran the vehicle's license plate and quickly discovered that it didn't match the car it was registered to.
What she discovered was far beyond what she could have anticipated.
She pulled the silver Hyundai over near Iliff Avenue and Abilene Street.
The driver didn't flee, but he skated questions, offering fake names and little information.
"I started speaking to the driver and realized he was not being forthcoming with the information. He couldn't give me a correct name, and I was getting a lot of runaround," said Fernandez.
The driver claimed he didn't have a physical copy of his driver's license, and the vehicle had no insurance or updated registration. The new "three-strike" law in Aurora mandates the towing and impoundment of vehicles when they violate three specific conditions: expired registration, an unlicensed driver, and no proof of insurance.
Fernandez impounded the vehicle. As part of standard procedure, she performed an inventory search of the car.
"I look in the driver seat, and I see some blue loose fentanyl pills on the seat," she said. "I opened the car, continued my search, and I found a huge stash of fentanyl pills wrapped up in Saran wrap. I thought ... jackpot."
Police found over 1,000 grams of fentanyl pills in the car, or about 10,000 pills.
Just two milligrams of fentanyl -- about the size of a few grains of salt -- can be fatal for an adult.
Police also discovered methamphetamine, marijuana, loose rounds of ammunition and a brass knuckle weapon.
The driver of the vehicle has been identified as a 17-year-old boy.
"When I took him into custody, I searched his person, and I located a lot of money. I also found some empty wrappers, or like clear plastic baggies that had a residue in them," she said.
The teen is charged with felony possession of a controlled substance, false reporting to police, driving on a fictitious plate, failure to provide proof of insurance and driving without a license.
"Sometimes, a traffic stop that seems so minor can turn into something much bigger than you ever imagined," Fernandez said. "This just shows why we need to keep doing traffic enforcement."