ST. GEORGE — A recent traffic stop on Interstate 15 and the ensuring drug bust — possibly valued at more than $18.9 million — underscores the battle being waged against the rise in synthetic drugs.

This time, it involved phencyclidine, a street drug commonly referred to as PCP.

Geovanni Dixon, 21, and Carl Tyree Carter Jr., both from Southern California, were arrested Sunday and booked into jail shortly after 4:30 p.m., each facing second-degree felony possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and misdemeanor possession of paraphernalia.

The arrest stems from a traffic stop on I-15 near Pintura when a white sedan was heading north and caught the attention of a Utah Highway Patrol trooper who noticed the temporary tag on the vehicle was “flapping in the wind,” according to the affidavit filed in support of the arrests.

The trooper also noticed the car’s window tint was darker than what is legal in Utah. After traveling several miles behind the sedan, the car was stopped at mile marker 31 near the Pintura exit for the registration and possible window tint violation.

While speaking to Dixon, who was driving, the trooper reportedly smelled burnt marijuana emanating from the vehicle, which is when the passenger explained the odor came from “something a female smokes in here,” wrote the trooper, who advised both occupants the sedan would be searched.

On the backseat, troopers found a cardboard shipping box with no writing on it that looked freshly taped, and inside troopers found a vacuum-sealed bag that contained what the trooper suspected was some type of controlled substance.

The driver explained the package contained clay because it had a powder in it. Both occupants then were detained and a Washington County Sheriff’s deputy arrived to assist.

Additionally, on the backseat was a black backpack that contained a large bundle wrapped in plastic. The substance was suspected to be a dry white powder that when dissolved, would be the equivalent of roughly 2 gallons of phencyclidine, which is a street drug commonly referred to as PCP.

Both packages were sent to a secure facility to be tested since a field test could not be conducted on that particular substance. UHP Sgt. Cameron Roden said the packages were ultimately sent to the state crime lab for analysis, which could take months to analyze.

He added that assuming the results are positive, then 2 gallons of PCP would generate approximately 757,000 individual doses, and at $25 a dose,  the total value would be about $18.9 million in street-level sales.

PCP and the rise in the synthetic drug trade 

According to the Department of Justice, PCP, also known as “angel dust,” was developed as an animal or human anesthetic in the 1950s, but by 1965, its use was discontinued after patients coming out of the drug started experiencing delusions or psychosis.

From there, the substance became part of the illicit drug trade with “disastrous results,” according to Narconon. 

By the 1980s, it was one of the most popular street drugs in the U.S., and then its popularity began to drop off in the late ’90s, in part, because its dangers were widely publicized and became well known.

Today, the use of PCP appears to be making a comeback, along with the new synthetic drugs that are being developed. PCP is also listed as a synthetic drug that has some of the most violent, dangerous effects of any illicit synthetic being sold today.

Following the traffic stop on Sunday, the cases were turned over to the Washington County Attorney’s Office for review and the charges were filed on Monday.

Both suspects made an initial appearance later that day and a bail reduction hearing was scheduled in each of the cases on Thursday. Until then, and both suspects remain in custody without bail.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact. 

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