Man accused of illegal possession of firearm and marijuana

A man was arrested on suspicion of illegally possessing a firearm and possessing more than the legal limit of marijuana on Wednesday night, police said.  

Rodolfo Lemas was booked into Pinal County Jail on suspicion of possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with physical evidence, possession of marijuana beyond 2.5 ounces, two counts of weapons misconduct and a post-adjudication warrant, police said. 

At about 10:20 p.m., Maricopa Police made a traffic stop at Circle K, 41433 W. Honeycutt Road, on a vehicle driven by Lemas. 

Lemas reportedly told officers that he did not know if there were any firearms in the vehicle. Lemas told officers that he had not been issued a driver’s license in any state, the probable-cause statement said. 

According to police, a records check on Lemas showed a post-adjudication warrant for his arrest. 

When the warrant was confirmed, Lemas was taken into custody. Once in handcuffs, he told officers there was a gun in the car that belonged to his wife, according to officers. Lemas said that he was possibly a prohibited possessor of a firearm for a previous armed robbery, police said. 

During an inventory search of the vehicle, police found in the center console a black Taurus TH40 with 12 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber, they said. 

Police found a sealed bag with four small bags under the passenger seat. The bags contained a combined 4.97 ounces of a leafy substance that after a NIK test was presumed positive for marijuana. 

A glass pipe with a bulbous end and burn marks was found hidden in a child’s sock in the back pocket of the driver’s seat, police reported. 

According to the probable-cause statement, Lemas told officers he uses marijuana and methamphetamine, and claimed ownership of the marijuana and pipe found in the vehicle.