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SLCPD Seizes Gun and Drugs During Traffic Stop

SALT LAKE CITY — Officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department’s Liberty Division Bike Squad safely arrested a 38-year-old man for illegally having a gun and drugs.

This investigation started at 2:16 pm on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, when the bike officers saw suspicious activity at a motel room near 1400 South State Street.

Officers stopped the car near 1700 South State Street.

During the stop, officers saw drug paraphernalia in the car and learned the front seat passenger, Justin Montgomery, had an active warrant for his arrest. Officers asked Montgomery to get out of the car and safely took him into custody.

While searching Montgomery, officers found him in possession of a loaded handgun, methamphetamine, cocaine and more than $1,400 in cash.

Officers searched the car and found THC vape cartridges, psilocybin mushrooms, THC gummies, fentanyl tables and suboxone strips.

With help from the SLCPD SWAT Team, officers executed a court-authorized search warrant and found marijuana as well as drug paraphernalia and a digital scale in the motel room.

Officers took Montgomery to the Salt Lake County Metro Jail and booked him on two charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Distribute, Possession of a Firearm by a Restricted Person, two charges of Possession of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, as well as warrants.

During the investigation, officers also arrested a second person who claimed to have swallowed drugs. That person remains at the hospital. He has not been charged.

Charges are only allegations, and every arrested person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Salt Lake City Police Department is not the custodian of record for jail booking photos. Utah Code 17-22-30 mostly prohibits the release of jail booking photos. Generally, a jail booking photo can only be released by the custodian of record after a conviction or when law enforcement determines the person is a fugitive or an imminent threat to a person or public safety. In Salt Lake City, the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office is the custodian of record for jail booking photos.

A photo of the items recovered is being released. Media may use this photo with credit to the Salt Lake City Police Department.

1- Photo of cash, drugs and a gun recovered by police. (Salt Lake City Police Department photo) | July 5, 2023)

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