Pinal County citizen confronts driver of suspicious vehicle - Sheriff's deputies respond and find marijuana, weapon, stolen vehicle

Sheriff Paul Babeu: "This is another example of the types of incidents our Pinal County families are forced to live with as a result of an unsecured border."

On Monday, Aug. 1 at 11:40 a.m. the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Public Safety Communications received a 9-1-1 call from a concerned citizen regarding a suspicious vehicle and person on a vacant piece of land near Harmon Road and Jamestown Road in Arizona City. The concerned citizen confronted the driver of the vehicle and observed what he believed to be marijuana bundles in the vehicle. The driver fled a short distance in the vehicle, and ran into a dirt embankment. The driver exited the vehicle, and fled into the surrounding desert on foot.

Pinal County Regional SWAT and Pinal County Sheriff’s Office K-9 members were conducting other operations in the area, and responded to the area within minutes to locate the abandoned vehicle with several bundles of marijuana in it. An immediate area search was started with SWAT and K-9’s. Deputies located a large amount of survival supplies located nearby in a wash. The supplies consisted of new clothing, canned food, cell phone, drinks, ammunition, a handgun (9mm Glock), a quad tire, and gas cans with fuel. All of these items were recovered by PCSO. The vehicle with the marijuana was recovered by PCSO as well, and the marijuana inside had a weight of 215 lbs. The marijuana had a street value of $107,500.

In addition to the vehicle on scene, it was discovered that two quads had fled the area upon arrival of the first deputies. One of the quads was located west of the location of the abandoned vehicle, and it too had been abandoned. This quad was discovered to be stolen out of Glendale and was turned over to the AZDPS Vehicle Theft Unit who had arrived on scene to assist. None of the suspects were located, and the only description provided by the witness was Hispanic males.

Sheriff Paul Babeu stated, "This is another example of the types of incidents our Pinal County families are forced to live with as a result of an unsecured border. During this past year, our Pinal County families have been forced to deal with homicides, an execution, kidnappings, rip crews, pursuits, stabbings, burglaries, a sexual assault, thefts, stolen vehicles, and other crimes all tied to illegal immigration. When is this administration going to wake up and stop suing states like Arizona and Alabama who are enacting laws to protect their citizens in the absence of the federal government doing their job and securing our border."