GW Parkway Traffic Stop In Arlington Leads To Drug Charges

ARLINGTON, VA — A man was charged in federal court after U.S. Park Police said officers found suspected methamphetamine and fentanyl during a traffic stop on the George Washington Memorial Parkway near the Route 123 exit, according to court records.

Moises Ayala Lopez was charged by criminal complaint with possession of a controlled substance. The case was filed June 2 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia’s Alexandria Division, according to the affidavit.

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U.S. Park Police were conducting traffic enforcement shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Monday on the median of the parkway near the Route 123 exit in Fairfax County, according to court documents.

An officer saw a vehicle driving without license plates and initiated a stop, according to an affidavit. The driver, later identified as Moises Miguel Angel Ayala Lopez, told officers he did not have a driver’s license, proof of registration, or proof of insurance, the affidavit said.

A records check at the scene showed Ayala Lopez’s license was suspended and the vehicle was not registered, according to the affidavit. He was then arrested.

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During a search, officers found a small tan container in Ayala Lopez’s right front pants pocket, court records say. The container held a crystalline substance similar in appearance to methamphetamine, and Ayala Lopez told officers the substance was methamphetamine, according to an affidavit.

Before the vehicle was towed, officers searched it and found a small rectangular zipped object containing five pills of different colors, according to the affidavit. Officers also found what appeared to be a used syringe with red liquid and a crystalline substance in the glove compartment, as well as a glass pipe on top of a zip-close bag containing a crystalline substance in the driver’s side door, the affidavit said.

Field tests showed the crystalline material from the container recovered from Ayala Lopez’s pocket was presumptively positive for methamphetamine, according to the affidavit. The crystalline material from the zip-close bag recovered from the vehicle was presumptively positive for fentanyl and methamphetamine, the affidavit said.

Ayala Lopez had an initial appearance Tuesday morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis in Alexandria. The government did not seek detention, and Ayala Lopez was placed on a personal recognizance bond with conditions, according court documents.

A status conference was set for 10 a.m. June 30 in Alexandria Courtroom 301 before Davis. Ann Mason Rigby was appointed as federal public defender for Ayala Lopez, according to court records.