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GREEN RIVER — A man, who at one time was facing 50 years in prison for his participation in a fatal fight in Iowa, has been arrested in Utah after troopers found an estimated three kilos of cocaine in his vehicle.
Kent Anthony Tyler III, 28, was booked into the Emery County Jail on Thursday for investigation of drug possession with intent to distribute, speeding and marijuana possession.
Tyler was pulled over Thursday morning on I-70 west of Green River for allegedly speeding, according to a police booking affidavit. Tyler, who had an Arizona driver's license, was identified as the driver.
Tyler told the trooper he and his passenger had recently traveled from Des Moines, Iowa, to Las Vegas for a couple of days, the affidavit states. While the trooper was writing a citation, a second trooper with a drug-sniffing K-9 arrived on scene to walk around the vehicle, according to the affidavit. The dog indicated the possible presence of drugs in the car, prompting the troopers to conduct a search.
"During the vehicle search, we located a package inside the spare tire well," the affidavit states.
The package turned out to be a kilogram of suspected cocaine, according to troopers.
At that point, the passenger in the vehicle "took off running across the freeway and through the median," the affidavit states. As of Friday, police were still looking for the passenger.
As troopers continued to search the vehicle, "a total of three 1-kilogram size packages were located in the spare tire well." The three kilos of suspected cocaine were seized as evidence, according to troopers.
While questioning Tyler, who troopers say has "a lengthy criminal history," he admitted he "had recently been released from prison for second-degree murder." According to media reports in Iowa, Tyler was facing a 50-year prison sentence before his murder conviction was overturned on appeal and, instead, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2016.
