A routine traffic stop escalated into a significant drug bust during the El Paso County Sheriff's Safe Streets Operation, resulting in the arrest of a 44-year-old man and the seizure of over a pound of methamphetamine. El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte detailed the events on the department's Facebook page, following an incident that unfolded on Saturday, where deputies pulled over a green Saturn passenger vehicle with defective equipment.
The traffic stop took place in the 700 block of Horizon Blvd., but the situation quickly intensified when the driver, later identified as Cesar Alfredo Galindo, decided to flee. Galindo's attempted escape led deputies on a chase through Socorro, Clint, and finally, Fabens before coming to a stop in a desert area near S. Fabens-Carlsbad Road and Hacienda Road. According to El Paso County Sheriff Oscar Ugarte, Galindo was arrested without further incident.
Upon searching the vehicle, deputies discovered the methamphetamine, weighing around 1.1 pounds. The street value of such an amount is roughly estimated at $5,000 per pound, highlighting the substantial nature of this drug seizure. Galindo now faces charges of evading arrest/detention with a vehicle and the manufacture/delivery of a controlled substance penalty group 1 ≥400g, with his bonds totaling $80,000.
