Stephens County Sheriff, deputies arrest 43-year-old man on cocaine charges
On the evening of Oct. 22, Stephens County Chief Deputy Kevin Roach and Deputy Trent McLane initiated a traffic stop on a white SUV traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 183 South, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office. The driver and only occupant of the vehicle, Jose Luis Nunez-Rodriguez, age 43, was unable to provide any type of identification. He said he did not speak English, and initially only gave part of his full name, the report states.
Jose Luis Nunez-Rodriguez
Roach and McLane contacted a Border Patrol Agent stationed in Abilene, who covers Stephens County. The agent interviewed Nunez-Rodriguez over the phone on the side of the road, and the agent determined that the suspect was in the country illegally. The suspect was reportedly traveling from Austin to his girlfriend’s house in Breckenridge.
At the request of the Sheriff’s Office, the agent was asked to see if the suspect would give consent for the S.O. to search his vehicle. Consent was given to the agent/S.O. by the suspect. Before searching, Roach asked the suspect if he had any drugs, weapons, or anything else that was illegal in the vehicle. The suspect admitted to transporting cocaine and marijuana, according to the news release.
Stephens County Sheriff Will Holt arrived on the scene, and he and McLane found approximately 52 grams (1.87 ounces) of cocaine and approximately 23.81grams (0.84 of an ounce) of marijuana in the vehicle. The street value for the cocaine is about $2,600, and for the marijuana it is approximately $238.
That amount of powder cocaine seized is an uncommon find for law enforcement in Stephens County, Holt said in the statement. “In the last few years, when cocaine has been found on a local person, it has usually been five grams or less, and a lot of times even less than one gram,” he said in the release. “When someone is hauling almost two ounces of any drug into our county, they are without a doubt dealing the drug.”
Nunez-Rodriguez is currently in Stephens County Jail on an immigration detainer from the Department of Homeland Security and for the onsite charges of: Manufacture/Delivery of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 1 equal to or more than 4 grams but less than 200 grams and for Possession of Marijuana less than 2 ounces. The cocaine charge is a First Degree Felony, and the marijuana charge is a Class B Misdemeanor. His bond for the cocaine delivery charge is $100,000.
Cutline, top photo: According to a news release from the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office, the drugs pictured above were confiscated from a suspect during a traffic stop in October. The cocaine and marijuana have a street value of almost $3,000, according to the report. (Photo courtesy of the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office)
