SOUTHERN UTAH – A traffic stop on I-15 resulted in arrests for a pair of travelers who were allegedly transporting illegal or unlawfully obtained items that included identification documents and credit cards as well as nine pounds of methamphetamine with an estimated street value of $200,000.
A Utah Highway Patrol officer observed a vehicle traveling northbound on I-15 near milepost 45 Wednesday with a broken brake light and numerous items hanging from and obstructing the driver’s view of the rearview mirror.
According to a statement of probable cause from the Fifth District Court in Iron County, when the officer pulled over the vehicle and approached, the driver, “was abnormally nervous, and was shaking.” The officer stated the driver would not maintain eye contact and avoided looking at the officer while talking.
The driver, identified as Shauna Ashely Ray, provided an Arizona driver’s license that was suspended. The passenger, identified as Aracelie Ausuzena Quintero-Rienhardt, and the driver gave the officer conflicting information regarding their travel plans and relationship. Both women’s addresses are listed to be in Tuscon, Arizona.
The officer obtained consent to search the vehicle, the document states, and then located numerous checks, credit cards, social security cards and state issued IDs that belonged to people not present in the vehicle. Drug paraphernalia was also found.
The pair were arrested and the vehicle transported to a Utah Highway Patrol station, where police assisted by a K9 unit located about 9 pounds of methamphetamine with an approximate street value of $200,000. Additional paraphernalia and heroin were also found.
The pair were booked on the charges detailed below.
Quintero-Rienhardt faces one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute as second-degree felony, one count of possession of methamphetamine as a third-degree felony, one count of possession of heroin as a third-degree felony, possession of drug paraphernalia as a class B misdemeanor, possession of stolen credit cards as a third-degree felony and five counts of identity fraud as third-degree felonies.
Ray faces one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute as a second-degree felony, one count of possession of methamphetamine as a third-degree felony, one count of possession of heroin as a third-degree felony, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia as a class B misdemeanor, one count of possession of stolen credit cards as a third-degree felony, five counts of identity fraud as a third-degree felony, driving on a suspended license as a class C misdemeanor and additional charges relating to deficient equipment on the vehicle she was driving.
