Casper, WY – According to the police officials, his name is Samuel Mercedes-Rivera and he was charged with three felony counts: conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine, punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment; possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment; and possession of methamphetamine, punishable by up to seven years imprisonment.
The incident occurred when a Wyoming Highway Patrol officer stopped Mercedes-Rivera on Wyoming Highway 220 near Goose Egg Road for driving 75 mph in a 65 mph zone.
Mercedes-Rivera was wearing all military camouflage in a Mazda with South Carolina registration, identified himself as being in the Army, presented a Texas veteran’s driver’s license, and said he borrowed the car from his staff sergeant.
He said he was traveling from El Paso to Minnesota to visit his mother. The Highway Patrol officer contacted a Casper Police Department K9 officer to conduct a vehicle sniff.
The dog alerted, officers searched the car and found a military-style duffle bag weighing between 60 pounds and 100 pounds with black-taped packages inside.
Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation officers arrived, and field-tested the suspected substance, which was presumed positive for methamphetamine. The methamphetamine was packaged in 67 bundles and the total weighed 78.93 pounds.
