Farmington man faces fourth drug trafficking charge

• Clinton Kester, 47, is accused of a first-degree felony count of trafficking a controlled substance, according to court records.
• Kester is accused of possessing 13 grams of meth on March 26 during a traffic stop along U.S. Highway 550.
• Chief District Judge Karen Townsend on June 17 ruled in favor of the San Juan County District Attorney's Office motion to hold Kester in jail as he awaits trial.

FARMINGTON — A Farmington man has accrued his fourth pending charge of trafficking a controlled substance after he was accused of possessing methamphetamine following an investigation by the regional narcotics task force.

Clinton Kester, 47, is accused of a first-degree felony count of trafficking a controlled substance, according to court records.

Kester is accused of possessing 13 grams of meth on March 26 during a traffic stop along U.S. Highway 550 south of Bloomfield, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

John Beckstead, Kester's attorney, did not respond to requests for comment.

This is the fourth first-degree felony charge Kester has pending and the sixth pending narcotics charge.

He has three pending charges of trafficking a controlled substance and two counts of possession of a controlled substance in Aztec District Court, according to court documents.

The Region II Narcotics Force began an investigation into Kester, who had an active arrest warrant, on March 25 after an informant notified an agent the defendant asked for a ride from Albuquerque to Farmington.

The task force is comprised of local officers and investigators from across San Juan County.

The informant left with a male driver not charged in the case and notified the agent around 10:40 p.m. they had picked up Kester in Albuquerque and were returning to San Juan County.

Kester allegedly had a substance the informant believed to be meth in his bag.

The agents and officers in the operation organized an attempt to intercept the vehicle along U.S. Highway 550 and they learned the registration of the SUV that Kester was in had its registration suspended.

Two San Juan County Sheriff's Office deputies conducted a traffic stop of the vehicle around 140 mile-marker on U.S. Highway 550 south of Bloomfield.

Deputies confirmed the identity of Kester and he was arrested on an active warrant.

A K-9 positively alerted to the odor of narcotics from inside the vehicle.

The remaining occupants of the vehicle were removed, and the SUV was sealed pending a search warrant.

During the execution of the search warrant; a meth pipe was found along with 13 grams of a white crystalline substance which tested positive for the presence of meth, three cell phones and a laptop computer.

Kester has prior felony convictions including trafficking a controlled substance, larceny, possession of a firearm by a felony and possession of a controlled substance, according to court documents.

Chief District Judge Karen Townsend on June 17 ruled in favor of the San Juan County District Attorney's Office motion to hold Kester in jail as he awaits trial.

Kester waived his preliminary hearing in the new case on June 19 in Farmington Magistrate Court.

Joshua Kellogg covers breaking news for The Daily Times. He can be reached at 505-564-4627 or via email at jkellogg@daily-times.com.

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