University police make 2 holiday drug seizures, no DUIs

University of Arizona police officers made two drug seizures during Memorial Day weekend, but no alcohol-related arrests as they took part in Southern Arizona's DUI Task Force.

UAPD Officer Luis Pimber arrested two people near East Broadway Boulevard and West Aviation Highway after he noticed the driver's car moving slower than usual.

"It was going about 19 mph in a 30 mph zone," he said. "Then it made an unsafe lane change."

When Pimber checked the vehicle's license plate, the registration came up suspended so he detained the driver.

Police arrested John Sebastian Polder, 20, of the 6000 block of East Lightning Drive and Sandra Jean Murrieta, 32, of the 200 block of West Kelso Street on suspicion of drug possession.

"I seized about 50 grams of cocaine, crack and heroin," Pimber said.

Officers Brad Lichty and Craig Simpson arrested a 17-year-old male on suspicion of drug possession at the intersection of East Broadway Boulevard and Aviation Highway.

"He (Simpson) pulled over a vehicle on Aviation Highway for speeding," Lichty said. "He detected a strong odor of marijuana emitting from the vehicle."

Lichty said he then received permission from the driver to search the vehicle and found about 66 grams of marijuana under the seat.

UAPD officers made three drug-related arrests during the long weekend.

The task force is a city-wide deployment of officers enforcing DUIs for occasions like New Year's Eve and Memorial Day weekend. The officers cover Pima, Santa Cruz and Cochise counties.

The task force takes officers from Tucson Police Department, Department of Public Safety, Pima County Sheriff Department, Oro Valley Police Department and Tucson Airport Authority along with UAPD.

"The task force saturates certain areas with officers trained in detecting drivers under the influence," Pimber said

The three UAPD officers involved covered the university and downtown areas, as well as Aviation Highway during the holiday weekend.

The entire task force made 667 traffic stops during the weekend and gave out 289 citations - 88 being alcohol-related.

UAPD officers did not issue any of the DUI citations, Lichty said.

The weekend was "pretty slow, for us at least," Pimber added.