OREM — Five people were arrested after police said a pocket dial of 911 led to the discovery of a wide assortment of drugs in an apartment.
Orem Police Lt. Craig Martinez said dispatchers initially received a 911 ‘hang-up’ around 11 a.m. on Sunday and returned the call.
“The gentleman that answered the phone didn’t really want to give any information about who he was, if everything was OK,” Martinez said. “He was very, very vague to the point where it raised some concerns for our dispatchers and we had some officers go out.”
Martinez said as officers were on the way, dispatchers discovered a name connected to the location near 320 S. State St. had a $270,000 felony warrant for criminal nonsupport — or a failure to provide for a spouse or children.
Officers found that man, who was identified as 47-year-old Lance Jensen, in his bedroom.
“When he was arrested, the officers noticed a couple baggies of what appeared to be illegal drugs on the nightstand,” Martinez said. “They tested positive for heroin and cocaine.”
Martinez said officers then obtained a search warrant and found more drugs, leading to the arrest of five people. Martinez described the find as a “smorgasbord” of user amounts of various drugs.
“It’s not very often you see that many different kinds of drugs in the same house with five different people,” he said. “Everybody had their own little stash is what it sounds like.”
Jensen was arrested on suspicion of possession of a controlled substance and use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
Dispatchers may receive dozens of accidental calls to 911 each day, but Martinez said they are always watching for circumstances that don’t seem right. They were prepared for this highly unusual hang-up.
“It’s kind of unheard of,” Martinez said. “This one’s odd. (It) worked out good for us, not for the five of them.”
