Hoopa traffic stop leads to gun and drug arrests, sheriff says

A 3:05 a.m. traffic stop at Tish Tang Road and State Highway 96 turned up a loaded shotgun, a Glock pistol and suspected narcotics, the latest arrest tied to the sheriff’s saturation patrol in Hoopa.

A Humboldt County sheriff’s deputy assigned to the operation stopped the vehicle for a stop-sign violation on Friday, June 5. The deputy reported seeing a loaded firearm magazine inside the vehicle. When the driver did not cooperate and drove away, a brief pursuit followed before the vehicle yielded on Tish Tang Road, where additional deputies responded and the occupants surrendered without further incident.

A sheriff’s K-9 then alerted to narcotics in the vehicle. The search uncovered suspected narcotics, drug paraphernalia, additional ammunition, a loaded 12-gauge shotgun and a loaded Glock pistol. The passenger, 26-year-old Anaiah Amber Smith of Hoopa, was cited and released at the scene.

The driver, 34-year-old Timothy Robert Ulrich, Jr. of Hoopa, was booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of felon/addict in possession of a firearm, prohibited person owning or possessing ammunition, obstructing or resisting a peace officer, commission of a felony while out on bail, possession of a controlled substance while armed with a loaded firearm, possession of a controlled substance and evading a peace officer.

The sheriff’s office says the Hoopa saturation patrol is aimed at ongoing criminal activity affecting the Hoopa Valley and is meant to support its partnership with the Hoopa Tribal community. County releases have said the patrols were deployed based on current crime data and emerging trends, with a separate April 16 notice describing the effort as a way to maintain a visible law-enforcement presence in crime-impacted areas and focus on repeat offenders with warrants, parole or probation issues.

June 5 was not an isolated stop. On May 4, deputies conducting saturation patrols in the Hoopa area arrested Orico Bailey at Lucky Bear Casino on an outstanding felony bench warrant and also took Miranda Moering into custody on two out-of-county warrants. Later that night, deputies pursued a stolen vehicle that eventually stopped in the 400 block of Tish Tang Road, where they arrested Ruben Williams and released a juvenile passenger to a brother.

A county notice on Feb. 25 said the saturated enforcement operation in Hoopa and Blue Lake was launched after a request from the Hoopa Tribe for crime suppression activity. For now, the patrols are producing visible stops, weapons arrests and narcotics cases, with Tish Tang Road becoming one of the clearest flashpoints in the campaign. The sheriff’s office said anyone with information about the case or related criminal activity may call its main line at (707) 445-7251 or the Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.