Contributed Photo: Virgil Stevens was arrested and found to be in possession of methamphetamine.
Contributed Article/Courtesy SCAPD
SAN CARLOS APACHE RESERVATION – On Feb. 4, San Carlos Apache Police Department (SCAPD) officers arrived at a residence in the Beverly Hills community after receiving information about a recently excluded Tribal Member – Virgil Stevens, being on the property and staying on the San Carlos Apache Reservation.
In San Carlos Tribal Court on June 16, 2021, Stevens pled guilty to possession of a dangerous drug for possessing methamphetamine. He was sentenced to pay fines and court fees of $5,060, serve a combination of 180 days jail time and residential treatment followed by nine months of supervised probation and 180 days exclusion from the Reservation. The exclusionary period ends on April 21, 2022.
Contact was made with Stevens, a convicted felon, and he was immediately apprehended. Officers applied for a search warrant, which was granted and executed for the residence where Stevens was staying. The results of the search were 9 grams of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and instruments used for drug sales; numerous plastic baggies and scales, and a shotgun.
Stevens was transported and booked into the San Carlos Detention Center on Tribal charges but also faces additional drug and weapons violations, according to Chief Benally.
Terry Rambler, Chairman, said, “Thanks to SCAPD, our streets are safer. Meth has been crippling and killing our members for too long. Due to the tireless efforts of SCAPD, another link in the chain of addiction has been broken.”
SCAPD Chief, Alejandro Benally Sr., said, “The work and effort these officers have conducted in their everyday tasks and assignments is astounding. In working with the communities, we are removing these drug suppliers and dangerous drugs off the streets for our residents, our families, our friends, our visitors, and our youth. Although Stevens was arrested on Tribal criminal charges, he will also face federal drug-related charges involving a firearm.
