LAKEPORT – LAKE COUNTY – A traffic stop on a residential street just a few blocks from the shore of Clear Lake resulted in the arrest of a Lakeport man on multiple drug and weapons charges.
Sunday night, at 9:36 pm, a Lakeport Police officer initiated a traffic stop on the 1200 block of Hartley Road. According to a Lakeport Police press report, the officer soon found when contacting the driver, 39-year-old Eduardo Nunez Lopez, that his license was suspended. Another patrol officer arrived, and discovered that there was a wooden object with a lanyard attached tucked into the passenger seat by the door. He removed it as a potential weapon, and discovered that it was a Billy club, which is considered a dangerous weapon and illegal to possess.
Lopez shouted out to someone in a home along Hartley.
The officers had Lopez step out of the car while they detained him for further investigation. He began to resist, and for reasons still not clear, yelled toward a home further down Hartley. Lopez himself resides in the further south town of Lower Lake, so perhaps a friend or customer was in a nearby house, and he was trying to warn them. What kind of customer soon became clear, as officers, after getting his consent, began a search of Lopez’ vehicle. The first thing they found was a crystal substance believed to be methamphetamine scattered about the front seat and floor, as if spilled when he was startled. 5.8 pounds of Processed marijuana in bags was found in multiple places in his car, along with a mason jar full of 415 grams of concentrated cannabis (which may take the form of hashish, honey oil, or wax).
Inspecting the crops? (Facebook)
In addition to the Billy club, Lopez was also armed with a switchblade knife stored in the console, and had a police scanner, apparently unused, stored in a bag. And he didn’t spill of of his meth in the car; he still had a bit in his pants pocket. He was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana for sale, possession of a dangerous weapon and switchblade knife, and for destroying or concealing evidence (or perhaps just being clumsy with it.) He was booked in the Hill Road correctional facility on $15,000 bail, with his first court appearance scheduled for tomorrow.
