A Safford Police Officer was traveling eastbound on Highway 70 at around 11:00 am last Wednesday morning when he observed a vehicle drive by headed westbound that he recognized from prior contact. The officer apparently knew the vehicle’s registration was suspended for not having mandatory insurance.
The officer turned around and followed the car to St. Vincent De Paul where he observed the driver having a difficult time parking. The driver was reportedly bumping up and over the curb while trying to parallel park between two other vehicles.
After confirming that the vehicle’s registration was suspended, the officer got out of his vehicle to talk to the people in the car. The driver and her two passengers were asked to exit the vehicle. The officer told the driver, identified as Dorothy Dykes, why he had pulled her over. While he was talking to her, one of the passengers, Michael Holmes, asked if he could leave and go to the restroom. The officer asked Holmes if he could search him before he left and Holmes agreed. Holmes reportedly had a grey bathroom bag that he brought out of the vehicle and set on the trunk.
The officer asked what was in it and Holmes said that it had money in it. When the officer asked if he could look in it, Holmes grabbed the bag and attempted to run. Holmes reportedly took two steps before he tripped and fell to the ground. The officer pointed his taser at Holmes and told him to stay on the ground. The officer handcuffed Holmes and placed him in the patrol vehicle.
The officer then searched the bag and found an orange prescription pill container containing a large quantity of a white crystal substance believed to be methamphetamine and an electronic scale. When asked about the meth in the bag, Holmes told authorities that was the reason he ran. Holmes admitted that he was trying to sell the meth to get money to go see his family in Utah. Officers also found $400 in the bag with the meth.
Other officers arrived on the scene to search the car and interview the driver, Dorothy Dykes and the other passenger, Ronald Reed. Investigators found a pink seal in the passenger door, which contained a crystal residue believed to be meth. Reed, who had been in the passenger seat denied that the meth in the door was his but admitted that he had used meth several hours earlier.
Dykes was processed for DUI drugs. Reed was transported to the Safford Police Department where he consented to a blood draw.
Holmes was booked into the Graham County Jail for possession of a dangerous drug for sale, and possession of drug paraphernalia.