Minor-league Cubs pitcher arrested with 21 pounds of suspected meth in car

EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. (TCD) --

A pitcher for a Chicago Cubs-affiliated minor league team was arrested on St. Patrick's Day in Colorado after deputies pulled him over in a traffic stop and discovered drugs in the vehicle.

The Eagle County Sheriff's Office said in a statement deputies from the Gore Range Narcotics Interdiction Team on patrol around noon on March 17 saw a silver BMW with Arizona license plates "speeding and drifting in and out of the lane of travel" on I-70 near the Eagle exit.

A sheriff's K-9 patrol unit made contact with the car, and the occupants gave consent to search the vehicle and its contents, the sheriff's office said.

The Vail Daily reported the driver and two passengers in the car told the deputy they were traveling from Phoenix to Denver, though their accounts and reasons for going there differed.

The driver, identified as 25-year-old Jesus Camargo-Corrales, said he was en route to Denver to teach a kids' baseball clinic.

The K-9 dog "Zane" reportedly "gave an interest to the rear wheel well of the vehicle and a final alert to an area under the rear seat," the sheriff's office said.

Deputies found a large duffel bag filled with baseball mitts, cleats, "and a bag doused in suspected essential oils with $1000 of neatly bundled cash, several neatly packaged bags of a white substance, and two green packages."

Deputies reportedly seized about 21 pounds of suspected methamphetamine and just over a pound of suspected Oxycodone pills.

According to The Vail Daily, Camargo-Corrales told investigators a friend from his hometown of Sinaloa, Mexico, called him the day before and asked him to deliver a bag to Denver, where he'd be paid $500. Camargo-Corrales reportedly said he thought it was filled with clothes and shoes, though deputies said he had previously indicated he knew there were unknown drugs in the bag, the Daily reports.

The car's other two occupants were released after investigators determined they had no knowledge of the drugs in the car.

Jesus Camargo-Corrales was facing charges of distribution of meth, distribution of Oxycodone, possession of schedule 2 meth, and possession of schedule 2 drugs.

Jesus Camargo is a right-handed pitcher for the South Bend Cubs, the High-A minor league affiliate of the Chicago Cubs in Indiana.

The Chicago Tribune reported Chicago Cubs Senior Vice President of Communications and Government Affairs Julian Green said, "We are aware of the arrest of one our minor-league players. We are investigating this matter and cannot provide additional comment until we have further details."

According to his MLB page, on February 21, Camargo-Corrales was assigned to the South Bend Cubs. As of March 22, he was still listed on the team's roster.

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