Taney County Prosecuting Attorney, Jeffrey M. Merrell announced today that VICTOR ARELLANO, dob: 09/17/1984 of El Paso, Texas was sentenced Thursday by Taney County Circuit Judge Mark Orr to a ten (10) year sentence for his role in the class A felony of trafficking in the first degree. Probation was denied.

On December 7, 2007 officers of the Branson Police Department responded to a hit and run accident at the Best Western on MO Highway 76 involving a rented U-Haul truck. Officers later found the truck and its occupants. Based on conflicting stories by the driver of the U-Haul, VICTOR ARELLANO and a passenger, officers became suspicious, and requested a K-9 drug dog to the scene. The K-9 gave a positive hit on the U-Haul for the presence of contraband. After obtaining a search warrant, officers from the Branson Police Department and the DEA recovered approximately 125 pounds of marijuana from the vehicle.

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