Police dog finds $1,200 in meth under car seat during traffic stop
February 23, 2007
A Salem police drug dog uncovered $1,200 in methamphetamine under the car seat of a suspected drug dealer Wednesday evening, officers said Thursday.
The discovery happened about 8 p.m. during a traffic stop in the 4100 block of Market Street NE, Lt. Steve Bellshaw said.
Street crimes officers had heard that a man was delivering drugs regularly in the city and were searching for a suspect when they stopped him.The officers found no drugs at first.
Then they brought in police dog Jack, who found 48 grams of meth, Bellshaw said.
Keizer resident Neftal Vazquez-Gomez, 24, was arrested on charges of delivery and possession of meth. Vazquez-Gomez also was booked a charge of first-degree child neglect because he had the two-year-old child of his girlfriend in his car.
Police went to the northeast Salem home of his girlfriend, Leticia Ramirez, and took two other children into custody, Bellshaw said. State workers placed all three with a family friend pending an investigation.
Ramirez, 31, was booked on three counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment.
-- Dennis Thompson Jr.