Odessa police arrested an Odessa man awaiting trial in an aggravated assault case on two felony drug charges Friday following an investigation that netted them 72 grams of methamphetamine and 18 grams of cocaine.
According to an Odessa Police Department report, detectives recovered the methamphetamine during an investigation that began earlier this month and as a result, they were able to obtain a search warrant for Mario Bernal Jr.’s home in the 300 block of Ann Street.
The detectives found the cocaine inside a safe inside a bedroom, the report stated.
Bernal admitted to the detectives he’s been a middle man in the drug trade for the last two years, the report stated.
Bernal was booked into the Ector County jail on suspicion of two counts of manufacturing/delivery of a controlled substance.
Bernal was arrested last July after he was accused of intentionally ramming the back of his wife’s Hyundai Santa Fe with his Dodge Ram in the 500 block of Lindberg and then pulling her out of the car and hitting her in front of the four children who were also in the car.
Officers who responded to a 911 call about the event observed injuries to the woman’s face and her car, according to the report.
Officers weren’t immediately able to locate Bernal, but he was arrested a few weeks later on five counts of aggravated assault with a weapon, evading arrest with a weapon and evading arrest/detention.
He was released from jail after posting $225,000 in surety bonds and later indicted by an Ector County grand jury on the same charges he was arrested on.
On Monday afternoon, Ector County District Court Judge Justin Low revoked Bernal’s bail in the earlier case at the behest of prosecutors so he’s now being held without bail.
