Nearly $62,000 of illegal drugs were seized following the arrest of a Gainesville man on Monday.
22-year-old Rodolfo Rodriguez-Puentes was finally apprehended at his residence after he got away.
At around 1 a.m. Monday morning, Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputies saw Rodriguez-Puentes’ pickup truck straddling the double yellow lines on Mountain View Road.
They then followed the vehicle, losing sight of it on Tumbling Creek Road.
Deputies located the truck in a parking lot on West Park Drive. When they attempted to speak to Rodriguez-Puentes, he allegedly put his truck in reverse and drove away.
A pursuit followed, before the deputies lost sight of the truck again around Atlanta Highway and Thurmond Tanner Parkway.
Later in the morning is when they responded to Rodriguez-Puentes’ residence on South Oaks Drive to serve the warrants for his arrest.
Another occupant of the home led deputies to the garage where they found the elusive pickup truck and a bag of marijuana on a shelf in plain view.
They arrested Rodriguez-Puentes on the traffic offenses and contacted the HCSO Special Investigations Unit (SIU) who obtained a search warrant for the home.
During the search, investigators reportedly seized around 440 grams (more than 1,700 pills) of alprazolam and 327 THC cartridges containing roughly 2,000 milligrams each of THC liquid.
Investigators also confiscated around 1,800 grams — or greater than four pounds — of marijuana.
They also found four firearms and roughly $7,000 in cash.
The combined street value of the drugs is roughly $61,900.
Rodriguez-Puentes got the following charges against him:
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Fleeing/attempting to elude a police officer
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DUI
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Speeding
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Passing in a no passing zone
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Reckless driving
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Crossing the gore
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Failure to maintain lane
After the search warrant, authorities tacked on:
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Possession of a schedule IV drug with intent to distribute
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Possession of THC oil with intent to distribute
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Possession of marijuana with intent to distribute
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Possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime
Rodriguez-Puentes remains in the Hall County Jail without bond as of last report.
