WESLACO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man was arrested in Weslaco after a physical struggle, police allege, in a traffic stop that resulted in the seizure of black tar heroin and crystal methamphetamine.
Ricardo Castellano, 37, was taken into custody at 12:16 p.m. Friday on multiple charges, including resisting arrest and local warrants for assault and failure to appear, according to the Weslaco Police Department.
The charges stem from events that followed a traffic stop of a gray Nissan Sentra, after Castellano allegedly passed a stop sign on W. 18th Street in Weslaco, police said.
When an officer stopped Castellano at the 100 block of W. 18th Street, the officer interacted with the driver and established a probable cause to search his vehicle for narcotics, police said.
Police noticed a large knife on the driver’s seat near Castellano and asked him to get out of the car, police said.
“The driver began to pull away from the police officer and would not allow an officer safety pat down to be performed,” police said. “The driver attempted to re-enter his vehicle, which led to a physical struggle. During the struggle, the officer fell backward to the ground, and the driver reached into the area where the knife was located.”
The officer unholstered his gun, police said.
“A good Samaritan stopped and assisted the officer in taking the driver into custody,” police said.
Police said the charges and warrants against Castellano include:
- Possession of a controlled substance, black tar heroin <1G, a state jail felony.
- Possession of a controlled substance, crystal methamphetamin >1G <4G, a third-degree felony.
- Resisting arrest, a class A misdemeaner.
- Local warrants for assault and failure to appear.
