Western Slope SPEAR task force takes 28,500 illegal pills off the streets
By Lindy Browning | Contributor, Rocky Mountain Voice
Members of a multi-jurisdictional task force, known as SPEAR (Special Problem Enforcement and Response Task Force), have intercepted 28,500 hydrocodone pills, with a street value of $285,000.
Hydrocodone is an opiate that is classified as a schedule II drug under the Controlled Substance Act.
According to Garfield Sheriff Lou Vallario, SPEAR received an alert from Mesa County law enforcement that a man, suspected by the DEA of multi-state crimes, was on Interstate 70 heading to Garfield County. Members of SPEAR were immediately activated and the suspect vehicle was located at the Bair Ranch rest area off I-70 exit 129 in Glenwood Canyon.
When officers arrived at the Bair Ranch rest area, they found Robert Newman, a resident ...