Traffic Stop Leads To Arrests For Multiple Offenses

Redwood National and State Parks (CA)
Traffic Stop Leads To Arrests For Multiple Offenses

On Thanksgiving Day, an NPS ranger made a traffic stop along Howland Hill Road and found that the vehicle’s three occupants were in possession of an untagged, quartered elk carcass, marijuana, what appeared to be methamphetamine, and stolen property. During the stop, one of the three fled on foot. With assistance from California state park rangers and Del Norte County Sheriff’s Department officers, the other two were taken into custody and a search was begun for the third. He was not immediately found, but was identified and arrested two days later on another traffic stop. California Department of Game and Fish took over the investigation of the elk carcass, as a fresh elk gut pile was found just outside the parks’ boundary. Crescent City Police Department and Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office detectives determined that the stolen property was taken during a recent Crescent City home burglary. Although two of the offenses were committed outside the park, this incident highlights excellent interagency law enforcement cooperation in and around the park communities. Numerous felony and misdemeanor charges are pending in the California state court.