FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 19, 2025

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SLCPD Officers Recover Firearm During Traffic Stop

SALT LAKE CITY — Officers with the Salt Lake City Police Department (SLCPD)’s Pioneer Patrol Division safely arrested two men during a traffic stop after finding drugs and weapons in the car.

This investigation started around 2:14 a.m. on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, when a SLCPD officer spotted a car driving without headlights near 800 West and North Temple and later conducted a traffic stop.

During the investigation, the officer determined the man driving the car, 59-year-old Darnell Cockle, had a suspended license.

A SLCPD K9 unit arrived on the traffic stop and SLCPD K9 Copper indicated the presence of suspected drug inside the car.

Officers detained four people in the car and during a search of the car found 4.8 grams of suspected methamphetamine, 7 grams of suspected crack cocaine, a suspected fentanyl pill, and multiple weapons, including a machete and a handgun.

Officers booked Cockle into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail for possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person, two counts of possession of a controlled substance, violation of duty to display headlights, driving on a suspended license, and operating a vehicle without insurance.

Officers also booked one of the passengers, 26-year-old Austen Mann, into the Salt Lake County Metro Jail for possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and possession of a controlled substance.

Officers released the other two passengers.

A photo of the evidence seized during this investigation is being released. Media may use this photo with credit to the Salt Lake City Police Department.

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.

The information contained in this news release is based on a preliminary review of the details available to the Salt Lake City Police Department. As the investigation progresses, information may change.

Photo: Evidence seized during a traffic stop includes a handgun, knife, and drugs (SLCPD photo – March 19, 2025).

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