SEMINOLE, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) – According to a post by the Seminole Police Department, on Saturday, September 2 at about 7:20am, an officer with Seminole PD located a vehicle with paper tag which did not belong to the vehicle it was on. The officer then conducted a traffic stop at the 500 block of SW 15th Street.
The vehicle had four occupants at the time of the traffic stop:
- The driver was identified as Kara Fulton, 42, from Odessa, Texas.
- The front passenger was identified as Jander Galindo Favela, 32, from New Mexico.
- The left rear passenger was identified as Juan Pedro Cruz, 27, from Odessa, Texas.
- The right rear passenger was identified as Petronilo Jaurez-Chavria, 36, illegally living in Hobbs, New Mexico, originally from Mexico.
After investigation, officers discovered the vehicle was reported stolen out of Hobbs, New Mexico on August 31st. Fulton was found to have a suspended Texas driver’s license.
Favela, the front passenger, was found to have a warrant from Ector County for “Unlawful possession of a firearm.”
Following a search of the vehicle, two firearms were recovered from the backseat area, as well as a “glass pipe with burned residue” that tested positive for a controlled substance.
All four occupants were arrested and transported to the Gaines County Detention Center for various charges:
- Fulton with the Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, a state jail felony.
- Favela with the Felony warrant out of Ector County.
- Cruz with the Unlawful carrying of a weapon, a class A misdemeanor, as well as Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, a Class C misdemeanor.
- Jaurez-Chavria with the Unlawful carrying of a weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia.
An ICE detainer was requested based on Jaurez-Chavria having been deported before and has since returned.
The vehicle was impounded and later released to the rightful owner.
There is an ongoing investigation regarding the ownership of the firearms.
