Hobbs duo allegedly found with 60 grams of meth
Two Hobbsans face felony drug charges after Hobbs police found about 60 grams of suspected methamphetamine Saturday while stopping a vehicle with a suspended registration.
Javier Quinonez, 38, was arrested and charged with trafficking a controlled substance, a second-degree felony; and criminal failure to appear. Maria Yanez, 36, was arrested on possession of controlled substance, a fourth-degree felony, and criminal failure to appear.
Around 7:05 p.m. Sunday, a Hobbs police officer was patrolling in the area of Marland and Fifth when he saw a blue vehicle traveling westbound on Marland. A records check of the vehicle’s license plate showed suspended registration due to insurance and an outstanding arrest warrant for the registered owner, according to the criminal complaints.
“As soon as I got behind the vehicle, it quickly turned into the Washington Place Apartments,” an officer wrote. “I drove around the block and the vehicle immediately began exiting the apartments. I was parked at the stop sign at Fifth and Marland and the vehicle started to turn towards me. When the vehicle noticed me, it quickly turned right.”
Hobbs police later located the vehicle in the 300 block of North Marland with two people, Quinonez and his passenger Yanez, inside. They both had outstanding warrants and police saw rubber tubing in the passenger floor board.
During an inventory search, Hobbs police located a plastic bag containing a “large amount of a white crystal like substance” underneath a coin tray. Hobbs police later obtained a search warrant and found several items inside the vehicle that included: three plastic bags with white crystalline substances, digital scale, glass pipe with tubing, small plastic bags, and two pieces of yellow tubing.
The combined substances weighed a total of 59.7 grams and gave a “positive” color change for the presence of methamphetamine on a field test kit. The substances are to be sent to the state laboratory for further testing.
