CEDAR CITY — Drug task force agents recently arrested a Cedar City man suspected of dealing marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms.

Brayden David Friedel, 20, was arrested and booked into Iron County Jail on Aug. 4, after agents with the Iron-Garfield-Beaver Drug Task Force served a search warrant at a residence in Cedar City.

During the search of the home, agents reportedly located 26.6 ounces of mushrooms, approximately one pound of marijuana and several ounces of THC wax (a concentrated marijuana product). In each case, the quantities were considerably more than personal use amounts, according to court charging documents.

The probable cause affidavit also notes that during the search, agents recovered an assault rifle and other firearms, a weighing scale, drug paraphernalia and an unspecified amount of cash in large denominations.

Friedel faces multiple felony charges in connection with the case, including three counts of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, two counts of possession of a dangerous weapon by a restricted person and one count of child endangerment.

The endangerment charge stems from the fact that Friedel has a 4-year-old sibling whose bedroom is adjacent to the room where the officers reportedly found the drugs.

In an interview with Cedar City News on Monday, task force commander Zac Adams said the multiagency drug unit’s efforts are focused on protecting children and others who may be vulnerable. 

“I get that some people will say, ‘Well, it’s just marijuana,’ but in this particular case, you know, especially in this day and age, ‘just marijuana’ can be pretty high in potency, and I don’t think a 4-year-old child should have access to it,” Adams said. “We could smell it when we went in.”

Adams said the bust did not involve any undercover drug purchases.

“We just had some tips come in about distribution going on there, specifically for marijuana and mushrooms,” he said. “So we started following up on it. We were able to get enough probable cause to get a search warrant on the residence and served it that day.”

Anyone who has information about suspected illegal drug transactions and related activities is asked to call Cedar Communications dispatch at 435-586-9445. Tips may be submitted anonymously.

Tips and reports can also be submitted online via the Iron County Sheriff’s Office website or the Cedar City Police website.

Friedel made his initial appearance in Cedar City’s 5th District Court on Aug. 12, after which he was released from jail with conditions, including that he register with a private probation provider, install an ankle monitor and submit to drug testing three times per month. His next scheduled court appearance is Sept. 9 at 2:30 p.m. via WebEx videoconference.

This report is based on statements from court documents and law enforcement officials and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

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