165 pounds of marijuana found in Salt Lake warehouse, charges say

A man who owned and operated several warehouses in Salt Lake City is now facing drug charges following raids of the warehouses and his home.

A man who owned and operated several warehouses in Salt Lake City is now facing drug charges following raids of the warehouses and his home. (Aerial Mike, Shutterstock)


Save Story

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — A drug distribution investigation conducted on several warehouses in the area of California Avenue and Fortune Road has resulted in criminal charges against a Salt Lake man.

Richard Tyler Coates, 43, was charged Wednesday in 3rd District Court with marijuana possession greater than 100 pounds, a second-degree felony; drug possession, a class A misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.

Between January and July 1, the State Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation into at least four warehouse units owned and operated by Coates.

"Agents conducting surveillance on the units observed Coates entering the units on multiple occasions with different individuals," according to charging documents.

On one occasion in June, agents watched a man enter a warehouse with Coates and then exit holding a suitcase and black garbage bag. Police pulled the man over after he left the area and found 17 pounds of marijuana and 50 THC cartridges, according to the charges.

Agents later returned to the warehouses with a search warrant and found "165 pounds of raw marijuana, 7 pounds of marijuana concentrate, also known as wax, (and) 474 THC vapor cartridges" in one unit, as well as small amounts of methamphetamine and marijuana in other units, the charges state.

Police later served a search warrant at Coates' home and recovered more marijuana products and cellphones.

Most recent Police & Courts stories

Related topics

Pat Reavy, KSLPat Reavy
Pat Reavy interned with KSL in 1989 and has been a full-time journalist for either KSL or Deseret News since 1991. For the past 25 years, he has worked primarily the cops-and-courts beat.
KSL.com Beyond Series
KSL.com Beyond Business

KSL Weather Forecast

KSL Weather Forecast
Play button