A traffic stop prompted by a defective license plate lamp and seat belt violations led to the arrest of a man accused of possessing methamphetamine, according to a court complaint.
The incident occurred Oct. 21, when officers stopped a vehicle occupied by two men, according to the complaint. The passenger was identified as Brian Concepcion Sablan.
Sablan repeatedly inserted his left index and middle fingers into a narrow gap between the front seats, the complaint states.
According to the complaint, Sablan told officers he was on probation for a drug case and could not return to jail.
Police said Sablan attempted to exit the vehicle for unknown reasons but was instructed to remain seated.
An officer then observed Sablan looking toward the area where he had been reaching and advised that a free-air sniff would be conducted around the vehicle, according to the complaint.
A police K-9 alerted officers to the area where Sablan was seated.
“The officer discovered a small clear resealable plastic baggie tucked within the area where Brian repeatedly insert his fingers,” the complaint states. Inside was a white crystalline rock substance suspected to be methamphetamine weighing approximately 0.49 grams, according to the complaint.
Sablan is on pretrial release in CF0743-22 and CF0067-25, both drug possession cases, court records cited in the complaint show.
He was booked at the Department of Corrections, with cash bail set at $3,000.