An alleged cocaine dealer with four outstanding warrants was arrested Oct. 7 after State Police pulled him over for speeding.
Somphong Phanomsack, 53, of Albuquerque, faces two felony counts of trafficking cocaine and possession of cocaine and eight misdemeanor counts that include speeding, possession of marijuana and concealing his identity, according to Rio Arriba County Magistrate Court records.
State Police officers Justin Dorian and Jessie Whitaker stopped Phanomsack for speeding and driving with a broken tail-light off El Llano Road just past midnight. They found a plastic bag of marijuana on the passenger seat and 15 grams of cocaine under the driver’s seat, according to a probable cause statement.
Phanomsack told police his name was Sam Phone and claimed he had lost his driver’s license, according to the statement.
While police booked him, Phanomsack’s phone rang “nearly 30 times” with calls from people trying to “set up a drug buy,” Whittaker wrote. Police later found $1,425 and a key for a Western Holiday Motel room in Phanomsack’s pockets, according to the statement.
Phanomsack told police he had been staying in the room about five days, and that “people used the room for drugs.” Police found another four grams of cocaine in the motel room, according to Whittaker’s statement.
Phanomsack, who could not be reached for comment, is being held at the Rio Arriba County Jail on a $50,000 cash-only bond, according to arraignment documents. He did not enter a plea during his Oct. 9 arraignment, according to court records.
One of Phanomsacks outstanding warrants was for violating probation terms from a June 2008 trafficking charge, according to an online court records database. The other was related to an August 2008 charge of driving with a revoked license, the database states.
Phanomsack had also pleaded no contest in state District Court to a 1995 trafficking charge, the database states.