A routine traffic enforcement stop near Novato’s Del Prado Shopping Center ended with the arrest of a Bay Area resident on controlled substance charges on Thursday evening, according to a Novato Police Department press release issued by Sergeant Frey.
San Pablo resident Marco Antonio Rivera, 32, was driving his vehicle in the 500 block of Alameda del Prado just before 8:30 on Thursday night when an NPD officer accompanied by canine Ingo pulled him over for traffic enforcement. Ingo, one of three NPD canines who have been specifically trained in the detection of narcotics, sniffed outside Rivera’s vehicle and alerted that he smelled narcotics inside.
NPD officers searched the vehicle and found a large amount of what they suspected to be methamphetamine. They arrested Rivera on the spot on charges of possession and transportation of a controlled substance.
Officers also discovered and thoroughly examined possible related materials in Rivera’s vehicle. Upon further investigation by NPD, officers determined that Rivera had sold methamphetamine and added possession of a controlled substance for sales to his charges. Records show that Rivera had previously been arrested in December on forgery and burglary charges.
