A traffic stop in the rain in northern Yreka, in California's Siskiyou County, ended with the seizure of 99.64 pounds of methamphetamine and the arrest of a 44-year-old Washington state man, the Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office announced on Friday, October 30, 2026. The Sheriff's Office said the driver later acknowledged to investigators that he had made multiple trips between Bakersfield, California, and Washington state to deliver narcotics — a claim that is an allegation at this stage and has not been proven in court.
Source: Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office via Jefferson Daily News
According to the Sheriff's Office, the stop happened on Thursday, October 22, 2026, when a sheriff's sergeant travelling through northern Yreka during a heavy rainstorm noticed a 2019 Chevrolet Suburban being driven erratically and pulled it over. The driver was identified as Juan Collado Penazola, 44, of Washington state. While speaking with Penazola, the sergeant noticed a small bag containing a crystalline substance on the vehicle's centre console, the Sheriff's Office said.
What investigators say they found in the back seat
The Sheriff's Office said a consent search of the Suburban uncovered a large box concealed in the back seat, containing numerous vacuum-sealed bags of suspected narcotics. The North State Major Investigation Team (NSMIT) was called in to process and test the substances, and testing confirmed approximately 45,165 grams — 99.64 pounds — of methamphetamine, according to the Sheriff's Office.
Source: Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office via North State Now
Investigators said Penazola acknowledged making multiple trips between Bakersfield and Washington state to deliver narcotics. That account comes from the Sheriff's Office: it is what investigators say he told them, it has not been tested in court, and Penazola is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Penazola was arrested on suspicion of violating California Health and Safety Code sections 11378(a) and 11379(a) — possession of methamphetamine for sale, and transportation of methamphetamine for sale — according to the Sheriff's Office. The announcement, made on October 30, did not provide a court outcome, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
A second seizure, one day earlier, on Interstate 5
The Yreka arrest was the second major drug seizure the Sheriff's Office reported from traffic stops on consecutive days. On Wednesday, October 21, a sheriff's sergeant travelling northbound on Interstate 5 noticed a pickup truck towing a U-Haul trailer being driven erratically and stopped it. A probable-cause search of the trailer found dozens of large black bags of marijuana that lacked the certifications required for legal cannabis products, the Sheriff's Office said. A follow-up count put the load at approximately 2,254 pounds of black-market marijuana. The driver, Omar Jacob Gonzalez, 36, was arrested for alleged violations of Health and Safety Code sections 11360(A) and 11359(B) — possession and transportation of illegally cultivated marijuana — and booked at the Siskiyou County Jail. Authorities have not indicated that the two cases are connected.
Source: Siskiyou County Sheriff's Office via Crime Voice
Why the I-5 corridor matters
Yreka is the county seat of Siskiyou County, in far northern California near the Oregon line, and Interstate 5 — the main north-south highway and freight corridor of the US West Coast — runs through the county. A driving route from Bakersfield, in the southern San Joaquin Valley, to Washington state follows that same I-5 corridor north through Sacramento, Redding and Yreka. For Punjabi truckers and other drivers who work that corridor, the two stops are a reminder that Siskiyou County deputies are actively watching erratic driving on and around I-5, and that a routine traffic stop can become a major criminal case.
The Sheriff's Office did not release an estimated street value for the seized methamphetamine, did not announce a court date for Penazola, and has not said the October 21 and October 22 seizures are connected. Those details were not in the October 30 announcement.
What is solid
- The Sheriff's Office announced the seizure and arrest on October 30, 2026, and said NSMIT testing confirmed 99.64 pounds (45,165 grams) of methamphetamine.
- A separate I-5 stop on October 21 seized 2,254 pounds of marijuana and led to the arrest of Omar Jacob Gonzalez, 36, according to the Sheriff's Office.
What is only claimed
- Investigators say Penazola acknowledged repeated Bakersfield-to-Washington drug trips; that is an allegation he has not admitted in court, and he is presumed innocent.
- No authority has said the two consecutive-day seizures are connected.
What happens next
Penazola's case now moves into the California court process in Siskiyou County, where prosecutors must prove the possession-for-sale and transportation-for-sale allegations. No court date was announced in the Sheriff's Office statement, and this report will be updated if the Sheriff's Office or the court releases one. The Sheriff's Office also did not release additional details about the suspected distribution operation behind the alleged Bakersfield-to-Washington trips.