Audio By Carbonatix
A Pinal County Superior Court judge this morning slapped the wrist of a Tucson woman convicted of peddling nearly $10,000 worth of crystal meth — she was sentenced to a mere 18 months probation.
Perhaps stupidity creativity points were awarded to 27-year-old Vanessa Concepcion Gaxiola when Judge Howard Fell considered her sentencing after she pleaded guilty to facilitation to possess a dangerous drug for sale — the meth was found stuffed into a bag of Lay’s potato chips…barbecue-flavored, to be precise.
In October 2009, Concepcion Gaxiola and 37-year-old Enrique Orozco were driving in a 2003 Chevrolet pickup truck west on Interstate 10 when a DPS K-9 unit pulled them over near Marana.
The two said they were driving to Phoenix, and DPS officials told New Times at the time that the couple was acting suspiciously, which prompted the officer to ask if he could search the vehicle.
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When the two said no, the officer had a narcotics canine walk around the truck.
When the dog indicated there were drugs in the car, the couple’s objection to a search was noted and ignored.
Officers found an open half-full potato chip bag on the back seat of the truck, and as we mentioned, it was full of about a half-pound of crystal meth.
“There are some smart criminals, but they aren’t all rocket scientists,” a DPS official told us. “Our dogs are very accurate.”
The case against Orozco still is pending.
