AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — A New Mexico man has been federally indicted for “Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine,” according to court documents filed Tuesday by the Amarillo division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
The documents detailed that at around 9:24 p.m. April 10, a Sherman County Sheriff was working patrol on US Highway 54/US Highway 287 when the deputy stopped a maroon 2015 Kia with New Mexico tags, driven by Ramon Gonzalez Jr., for allegedly “displaying defective equipment, headlight not functioning.”
The deputy approached the vehicle, the documents stated. While speaking to Gonzalez, the deputy allegedly “found inconsistencies with the story” about his trip.
The documents added that the deputy believed Gonzalez was involved in “criminal activity” and therefore asked him for consent to search the vehicle. A canine was used to detect any suspect odors, and the canine “demonstrated a positive response to narcotic odors,” the documents said.
When the deputy asked Gonzalez for his keys to the vehicle, the documents allege that Gonzalez “refused” and became combative, leading the deputy to take him to the ground and handcuff him.
After the deputy continued to search the vehicle, the documents allege that a backpack containing “three bricks of a white substance,” were retrieved. Officials said that Gonzalez was then taken to the Sherman County Sheriff’s Office in Stratford.
A further investigation into the incident confirmed that the white substance Gonzalez allegedly had in the vehicle was cocaine. The documents also allege that Gonzalez was traveling from New Mexico to Tennessee, transporting the drug to someone in Tennessee.