Two in custody after Cotulla traffic stop

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Christian Garcia

Randy Ramirez

A La Salle County sheriff’s investigator working enhanced patrol as part of Operation Lone Star effected the traffic stop of a vehicle near downtown Cotulla on Thursday evening, June 15, to discover a wanted fugitive and a man in possession of cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine.
The traffic stop occurred shortly after 6:45 p.m. Thursday in the 600 block of Leona Street.
Identified as 44-year-old Randy Ramirez of Edinburg, Texas, the driver of a 2015 Ford Fusion sedan had been stopped because Investigator Adrian Ruiz had noted the vehicle’s registration had expired more than a year and a half ago.
Ramirez was listed as wanted in La Salle County on a warrant for having failed to appear in court on a criminal trespass charge.
Ramirez’ passenger, identified as Christian Garcia, 28, of Mission, Texas, had reportedly concealed a number of bags of narcotics in the car, according to the report.
Investigator Ruiz noted that the driver attempted to climb out of the car, appeared nervous, and had to be instructed several times not to reach into the vehicle during the roadside encounter. Ramirez reportedly admitted to the officer that he believed a warrant had earlier been issued for his arrest.
The investigator also reported that he detected an odor of marijuana in the Ford and that he had cause to search the vehicle.
Ruiz discovered a bag of marijuana on the back seat of the car, a bag of narcotics behind the passenger seat and – on the car floor – a roll of paper that appeared to bear a narcotic residue, the report indicated. The residue was later identified as methamphetamine.
Garcia reportedly admitted to the investigator that the narcotics were his. He was jailed on a second-degree felony charge for possession of 7.3 grams of cocaine, a state jail felony charge for possession of methamphetamine, and a Class B misdemeanor charge for marijuana possession.
Ramirez was jailed on the warrant that had been issued in La Salle County Court and was later released on bond.