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SALT LAKE CITY — A Richfield man already in jail on drug distribution charges is in more trouble after telling a friend to retrieve drug money hidden in his apartment and bail him out, court documents say.
Jason L. Saunders, 40, was arrested on July 3 and charged a couple of days later in 6th District Court with drug distribution, a second-degree felony; five counts of possession of a firearm by a restricted person, a third-degree felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor.
Police served a search warrant on Saunders' home and found a "large quantity" of methamphetamine that he was selling "around the Richfield area," according to jail report. Ten "long-barreled guns" were also seized, police say.
"Jason is a danger to society, with the amount of methamphetamine that was found with the firearms. Jason also has the means to flee the country, and is a known drug user, and is unpredictable," police wrote in the report.
Several days after being arrested and booked into jail, detectives received information that Saunders had called another man while incarcerated and asked him to come to the jail, get his keys, and go to his apartment to retrieve money he had hidden and bail him out, according to a second jail report.
Police stopped West Fisher, 41, of Annabella, Sevier County, as he left the apartment. Investigators found $6,500 "concealed underneath the dashboard," the report states. Police searched Saunders' apartment again and reported finding an additional $20,000 hidden in his bedroom.
On Tuesday, both Saunders and Fisher were charged with money laundering, a second-degree felony. Fisher is also charged with obstruction of justice, a third-degree felony.
