Safford police were dispatched to Circle K near Firth Park regarding suspicious subjects parked in front of the store. When a Safford officer arrived, he was told that the male and female occupants of the car appeared to be under the influence. An investigator from the Graham County Sheriff’s office happened to arrive on the scene at the same time.
The driver was asleep in the car and the female passenger was face down in the back seat with her legs hanging out of the open passenger side rear door. She appeared to be searching for something. Authorities woke the driver, who identified himself as Marshall Bakarich. He said he was on his way to Tucson and had stopped to rest. The woman with him was reportedly his wife, Kimberly. She told authorities that she was looking for her wedding ring in the back seat.
While authorities were speaking to the couple, the driver removed a small zip lock bag from the center console and dropped it between the seats. Officers could see a crystalline substance consistent with meth in the bag. Marshall was ordered to exit the car and asked what was in the bag. He admitted that it was meth. He said that he had used meth the prior evening while he was at Roper Lake State Park.
Another officer arrived on the scene and the two Safford officers searched the vehicle. In addition to the meth they had already seen, they found heroin in Kimberly’s purse along with Oxycodone and Diazepam.
The couple was transported to the Graham County jail where they were booked without incident. Their vehicle was towed from the scene.
