CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — On Monday afternoon, a traffic stop in Portland resulted in one of the largest drug and weapons busts in Chief Mark Cory's tenure as Portland's chief.
Along U.S. 181 Frontage Road and Pecos Street, Portland Police Department's (PPD) narcotics officers made a traffic stop on Justin Hysquierdo.
The 26 year old was allegedly caught with a small amount of drugs and a gun in his vehicle, but he also had a warrant out for unauthorized carrying of a weapon. Chief Cory said they had probable cause to then get a warrant for Hysquierdo’s home.
The warrent led Portland Police to the 1700 block of Denver Street.
“It’s disheartening to know we had a residence that was holding this type of narcotics and firearms. But it’s exhilarating for our police department to take this off the street. And, like I said, I want to reiterate, if you bring this trash into our community we will find you and arrest you,” said Cory.
Among the drugs and weapons found were 375 lbs. of marijuana that Cory said was valued on the street for $757,000 dollars. 2000 grams of THC oil, 400 grams of mushrooms and dozens of THC vape pens. Several weapons were confiscated including assault rifles, handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Included in this was armor piercing ammunition that Cory said could penetrate a bullet proof vest.
“We’re thinking at this point this could have been a stash house and it could be distributed in other communities, but unfortunately this was located in our community," he said.
Cory said Hysquierdo had been on PPD's radar for some time.
"When I made the seen yesterday (Monday) afternoon, I went and spoke to the neighbors surrounding that house," he said. "And, they all provided information at that point, that they felt that they had seen suspicious activity."
As for charges, Sam Smith, San Patricio County District Attorney said they’re going to make sure they take time to catalog everything.
“I can assure you, that it'll be serious charges," Smith said. "And, along with the guns, it’s easy to see that this person or people that he was involved with, most likely, are serious threats to the community.”
Cory said all signs point to this being organized crime, which he has seen very little of in his time at Portland Police Chief. No determination has been made if there is any connection to a drug cartel, but Cory hopes this arrest will lead to several more.
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