Police: Failure to signal lane change leads to man's arrest on cocaine charge
Dec. 13—Failing to signal a lane change led to the arrest of a man found in possession of more than 11 pounds of cocaine, a federal criminal complaint reads.
Hiram Alejandro Lopez, age and address unknown, is charged with possession with intent to deliver more than 5 kilograms of cocaine.
The incident occurred Monday in Brownsville, while Brownsville police were conducting routine traffic duties on Paredes Line Road and Morrison Road, the federal criminal complaint reads.
According to the federal criminal complaint, an officer saw a white Ford F-150 fail to signal a lane change. The officer conducted a traffic stop on the truck and spoke to Lopez, who was the only person in the truck and its owner.
The officer asked if he could search the truck and Lopez granted consent, the federal criminal complaint indicates. During the search, the officer found a backpack that contained five "brick-shaped bundles wrapped in black electrical tape." Also found inside the backpack was a plane ticket and hotel receipts with Lopez's personal information on them.
Lopez said the backpack didn't belong to him nor the cocaine found inside, the federal criminal complaint reads.
Lopez was arrested and agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration were called due to the amount of cocaine that was found, the federal criminal compliant indicates. The bundles tested positive for cocaine.
Lopez declined to speak to the DEA agents and requested to speak to an attorney.
Lopez appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ignacio Torteya III, who ordered he be held without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 15.
