At about 2:30am last Monday, August 19, Deputy Sheriff Ben Adair stopped a Volvo sedan for a minor traffic violation just outside Buena Vista.  The driver, Jeremiah Matthew Albright, 36, a resident of Buena Vista, was unable to produce proof of insurance or proper registration for the vehicle.  A passenger in the car, Talia Dinsmoor, 28, was found to have an active arrest warrant for probation violation and was taken into custody and later jailed.  Another passenger in the vehicle, a 42-year-old male, had no warrants and was released.

Deputy Adair impounded the vehicle until proper ownership and insurance coverage could be produced.   A loaded AR-style rifle with magazine attached and a loaded .40 caliber handgun belonging to Albright were observed by Deputy Adair inside the car.  Lacking legal grounds to seize them, Deputy Adair allowed Albright to take the weapons with him as he arranged a ride with a relative who came to the scene at Albright’s request.  Albright was released and departed with his relative.

During a routine search of the car prior to impoundment, Deputy Adair discovered a digital scale and a substance that later tested positive for methamphetamine.  A backpack believed to belong to Albright contained a loaded .357 caliber revolver.  Also found was a piece of paper on which was written several police “ten codes.”  Several 30-round ammunition magazines and boxes of ammunition were discovered inside the car as well.  All were taken for safekeeping.

Later Monday, having found that the substance tested positive for methamphetamine, Deputy Adair obtained an arrest warrant for Albright charging him with possession of a Schedule II substance, a felony.  The warrant further specified that Albright was not to possess firearms.  An effort was mounted to locate Albright to serve the warrant, and that evening his car was spotted at a local residence by Deputy Jesse Cortese.  As the car drove from the residence, deputies performed a felony stop on the vehicle and arrested Albright, who was alone in the car.  Inside, deputies found the AR-style rifle and the .40 caliber handgun, both loaded.  Also found was a substance suspected to be methamphetamine and paraphernalia commonly associated with use of the drug. 

Albright exhibited signs of drug impairment.  He was jailed and charged with driving under the influence of drugs, a misdemeanor; unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a felony; possession of a firearm while under the influence of drugs, a misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a petty offense.  He remains in custody at the Chaffee County Detention Center under a bond of $50,000.

During both encounters, deputies were assisted by officers of the Buena Vista Police Department.