On December 24, 2020, shortly before 7:00 p.m., Idaho Falls Police Officers responded to a parking lot for a report of a suspicious vehicle after a witness called Idaho Falls Police Dispatch and reported seeing two people inside the vehicle engaging in drug activity.
The first Idaho Falls Police Officer responded and located the suspect vehicle. As the Officer arrived, the vehicle attempted to leave the area. The Officer witnessed the vehicle fail to come to a complete stop before exiting the parking lot and initiated a traffic stop on the vehicle.
When the vehicle pulled over, the Officer made contact with the driver who identified herself as Karlee Kuck with her Idaho Driver’s License. A male passenger, who was not wearing a seatbelt, said he did not have identification on him and provided a name which Officers determined was not his real name.
A second Officer arrived to assist and Officers moved to detain the male passenger due to belief that he was lying about his identity to avoid criminal consequences. Officers approached the vehicle on both sides and provided the driver and passenger with clear instructions in order to safely detain the passenger.
The passenger was wearing a hat and a face mask obscuring the majority of his face. An Officer opened the passenger door and removed the male’s facemask in order to identify him. Officers recognized the male as Simon Martinez. Martinez is known to local law enforcement and is known to frequently be armed.
Officers drew their duty weapons and gave repeated directions for Martinez to exit the vehicle and to lay on the ground. After being given multiple iterations of those directions, Martinez complied and was taken into custody without further incident. Officers searched Martinez’ person and found him in position of $1226 in various bills.
The driver, Kuck, was also detained at that time. Kuck informed an Officer that there was a firearm in the vehicle located in her purse. Kuck gave permission for Officers to retrieve and secure the firearm. While doing so, Officers observed drug paraphernalia in the purse and Kuck was arrested at that time.
Officers ran the serial number on the firearm and found that it had been stolen in September from an unlocked vehicle in Idaho Falls. Kuck told Officers that the gun belonged to Martinez and that it was in her purse because Martinez was a convicted felon and was not supposed to be in possession of the firearm. The firearm had orange tape wrapped around the tip, mimicking a common trait of fake or toy firearms.
Officers conducted a search of the vehicle and located a black duffel bag. The duffel bag contained men’s clothing and items belonging to Martinez. Next to the black duffel bag a black backpack was also located. Both items were determined to belong to Martinez.
Inside the black backpack Officers located 40.85 grams of a white crystal substance that tested positive for methamphetamine, 7.90 grams of marijuana and THC wax, 1.9 grams of a black tarry substance that tested positive for heroin, three containers of a substance that tested positive for cocaine weighing a total of 42.25 grams, drug paraphernalia, and an additional $9,124 in various bills. In the backpack Officers also located 38.82 grams of a white powdered substance that Officers suspected was fentanyl. Due to the danger associated with handling fentanyl, that substance was not tested by IFPD and was packaged and sent to the Idaho State Police Lab for identification.
A zippered clutch belonging to Kuck was also searched and was found to have .9 grams of a black tarry substance identified as heroin. Kuck admitted possession of additional paraphernalia and methamphetamine on her person. Because there were no female officers on duty at the time, Officers elected to have a female jail deputy complete a search of Kuck’s person when they arrived at the jail. Additional paraphernalia and 4.15 grams of methamphetamine were recovered from Kuck’s person at the jail.
Karlee Kuck, a 24-year-old female resident of Idaho Falls, was arrested for Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance - Heroin, Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance - Methamphetamine, and Misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Kuck was taken to the Bonneville County Jail.
Simon Martinez, a 38-year-old Idaho Falls resident, was arrested for Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance – Heroin, Felony Drug Trafficking in Cocaine, Felony Drug Trafficking in Methamphetamine, Felony Possession of Stolen Property, Felony Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Martinez also had an outstanding Bonneville County Warrant with an original charge of Drug Trafficking with a $500,000 bond. Martinez was booked into the Bonneville County Jail.
###