PRESS RELEASE- 9/2/23- FENTANYL SEIZURE PPD CASE 23-0658

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Date: September 2, 2023

Shortly after midnight, Officer M. Wood and her partner, K9 Ridge made a traffic stop on a vehicle at the intersection of Skyway and Clark Rd near the Fastrip gas station. The vehicle's registration was suspended in violation of VC 4000(a) and the registered owner, Jason Molina had two DUI-related suspensions of his driver's license.

Officer Wood contacted Mr. Molina and his passenger, Ashley Owen. Officer Wood noticed both displayed signs and symptoms consistent with stimulant drug influence. K9 Ridge is a certified narcotics detection dog. K9 Ridge alerted to the odor of narcotics in the vehicle. A positive K9 alert gives law enforcement probable cause to conduct a vehicle search. Officer Wood conducted a search of the vehicle and located a wide variety of paraphernalia used to ingest narcotics, as well as suspected methamphetamine, suspected Fentanyl, and a digital scale with residue.

Officer Wood arrested both Mr. Molina and Ms. Owen. Per standard procedure, Officer Wood afforded both Mr. Molina and Ms. Owen opportunity to declare any narcotics concealed on or in their persons prior to entering the Butte County Jail. Drug possession is a misdemeanor crime, however, smuggling drugs into any jail facility is a felony crime. Both Mr. Molina and Ms. Owen denied having any drugs concealed on or in their persons.

Upon arrival at the jail, Officer Wood learned that Mr. Molina and Ms. Owen were attempting to transfer a large package of drugs from Mr. Molina to Ms. Owen in an attempt to prevent the drugs from being discovered by jail staff.

The drugs were tested and weighed. 19.38 grams of suspected Fentanyl and 2.1 grams of suspected methamphetamine were booked in evidence. Depending on the purity and amount of other chemicals mixed into the powder, this much street-grade Fentanyl could represent enough to cause over 1,000 fatal overdoses. According to the CDC, Fentanyl overdoses is the leading cause of death for Americans age 18-45.

Mr. Molina and Ms. Owen were booked on the following charges: PC 664/4573.5 (Attempting to bring illegal drugs into a jail facility), HS 11351 (Possession/transportation of narcotics for sale), and PC 182(a) (Criminal conspiracy). Bail was set at $58,000 each. During jail intake and booking, jail staff conducted a records check and determined Mr. Molina had an outstanding arrest warrant from the Los Angeles area.

LOCATION: Skyway/Clark Rd, Paradise

SUSPECT(S): Jason Molina, age 41; Ashley Owen, age 30

INVESTIGATING OFFICER: Officer M. Wood

APPROVING SUPERVISOR: Sgt. D. Akin