Colorado man charged in Utah's federal court following large meth bust

CEDAR CITY — A Colorado man arrested in southern Utah after police say they found more than 20 pounds of meth in his car has been charged federally.

Scott Franklin Clay, 44, of Colorado Springs, was indicted in federal court on Dec. 15 on one count of methamphetamine possession with intent to distribute.

On Dec. 4, Clay was pulled over on I-15 by a Utah Highway Patrol trooper near Cedar City for a minor traffic violation, according to a police booking affidavit. The trooper became suspicious of additional illegal activity, the affidavit states, and a police K-9 was used to sniff around the vehicle for drugs.

"During a probable cause search I located a box full of 19 approximately one pound packages of methamphetamine in the trunk and six more packages of the same substance in a backpack on the passenger floorboard," the trooper wrote in the affidavit.

According to a search warrant affidavit, the drugs had an estimated street value of more than $67,000. Clay claimed he was being paid for transporting the meth from California to Colorado, the warrant states.

Clay was arrested and later charged in 5th District Court with drug possession with intent to distribute. That charge was dropped last week after the federal indictment was filed.

According to the booking affidavit, "(Clay) has an extensive criminal history with multiple failure to appears and contempt of court. The subject also has a prior felony conviction of possession with intent to distribute out of Colorado."

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