FLORENCE, Ariz. – Two vehicle pursuits in as many days involving human and drug smuggling have ended in over a dozen arrests and hundreds of pounds of marijuana seized.
 
Five Arrested, 518 lbs. of Marijuana Seized
 
On 7/23/2012, just before 7:00 a.m., a PCSO deputy on patrol near the intersection of Toltec and Bataglia Roads south of Stanfiled witnessed a white Ford Expedition make an unsafe u‐turn.
 
The deputy initiated a traffic stop, but the SUV sped away and ran through a stop sign southbound on Toltec Road.
 
As the driver of the SUV approached Curtis Road at a high rate of speed, the vehicle left the roadway and became stuck in mud. The deputy witnessed (5) subjects flee from the vehicle on foot.
 
The deputy cleared the vehicle as additional units responded and discovered bundles of packaged marijuana totaling 518 lbs. PCSO units located three subjects a half mile from the vehicle, while United States Border Patrol Agents apprehended the remaining two near the Santa Cruz River.
 
The subjects were identified as:
 
Sergio S. Orozco, 25 (Driver)
Jose Ramon Medina‐Lopez, 23
Jorge Alberto Matute‐ Vanegas, 21
Josel Rafael Vanegas‐ Mencia, 23
Ivis Misael Chapa‐ Duvon, 25