The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Kansas Highway Patrol, the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, the Hays Police Department and the Ellis County Sheriff’s Office coordinated efforts to arrest a Hays man for suspected distribution of methamphetamine.

On Sunday, July 7, at approximately 1 a.m., Fernando Amezquita, 43, Hays, was arrested along U.S. Highway 56, west of Dodge City, after authorities reported finding approximately 6 pounds of methamphetamine in his vehicle.

Amezquita was arrested for distribution of methamphetamine, and three counts of child endangerment, since his three young children were passengers in the vehicle at the time of his arrest. He was then booked into the Ford County Jail. Bond was set at $150,000.

This operation represented a coordinated law enforcement effort to combat drug violence and reduce the accessibility of illegal drugs impacting western Kansas.

— HPD