February 24, 2021 – Ventura County, Ca.
As if it isn’t scary enough to pass big rig trucks on narrow freeways that seem to be constantly under construction throughout Santa Barbara and Ventura County, the concept of those big rigs’ drivers being under the influence of drugs is enough to make a driver stay on city streets.
According to Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sr. Deputy David Anaya, it was just before noon on February 18th when a motorcycle cop attached to the City of Moorpark Police Department Traffic Bureau spotted a semi-truck-and-trailer tooling down the highway and committing “multiple traffic and mechanical violations.” When the officer made contact with the driver, Bloomington, California resident Nery paraphernalia
, he noticed that Salguero “was displaying symptoms of recent drug use.”
As additional uniformed resources arrived on the scene, an inspection of the truck—reportedly empty at the time and weighing 25,000 pounds—was conducted. It didn’t take long for deputies to discover “drug paraphernalia and marijuana” in the truck’s cab. Salguero was promptly taken into custody and transported to Ventura County Jail, where he was booked for possession of drug paraphernalia and for driving under the influence, while his truck was towed to a county storage facility.
Just five days later, on the afternoon of February 23rd , Salguero visited the storage yard “as he attempted to retrieve his semi-truck.” Notified of his visit, deputies arrived shortly thereafter and determined that Salguero was once again under the influence of methamphetamine. He was once again arrested, transported to Ventura County Jail, and booked on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia, and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Anaya indicated that if Salguero had successfully retrieved his truck and picked up a full load, he would have been driving a rig with a gross weight of 80,000 pounds “while under the influence of methamphetamine and marijuana.”
