BARSTOW, Calif. (VVNG.com) — A routine traffic stop turned into a drug bust after a Barstow Police K9 alerted to narcotics, leading officers to methamphetamine inside a vehicle.
On Sunday, March 15, 2026, at approximately 2:24 p.m., officers conducted a proactive traffic stop for a vehicle code violation in the 2100 block of West Main Street.
During the investigation, officers deployed the department’s Narcotics Detection K9, Bailey. The K9 conducted a free-air sniff around the exterior of the vehicle and “positively alerted to the presence of illegal narcotics,” according to a written statement from the Barstow Police Department.
Officers subsequently searched the vehicle and located approximately 43 grams of methamphetamine along with multiple smaller baggies commonly associated with narcotics sales.
Through the investigation, officers determined the narcotics belonged to an occupant of the vehicle identified as 45-year-old Samuel Mendez, a resident of Daggett.
Mendez was arrested and booked at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department High Desert Detention Center in Adelanto for H&S 11378 — Possession of Methamphetamine for Sale.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to contact Officer Omar Orozco at aorozco@barstowca.org or the Barstow Police Department at (760) 256-2211. Those wishing to remain anonymous may provide information by calling the WE-TIP hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or by visiting www.wetip.com.
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