Cotati traffic stop ends in cocaine discovery, arrests

Two Rohnert Park residents were arrested early Friday during a traffic stop in Cotati after police found packages of cocaine and cash in the vehicle, officials said.

Taylor Benson, 25, and Jessica Heryford, 23, were booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of felony possession of cocaine for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, conspiracy and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia, Cotati Police Lt. Bill French said.

The stop was conducted by a team of officers from Cotati and Rohnert Park as well as investigators with the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control that were in the area because of the so-called “Cotati Crawl” that draws students to the city’s popular main strip on Thursdays. French said they were on the lookout for intoxicated drivers and illegal drug sales.

An officer pulled the couple over at 2 a.m. on East Cotati Avenue as they drove away from the city plaza area for an unspecified minor traffic violation, French said.

A police dog searched the vehicle and found packaged cocaine in a portable safe stashed under the driver’s seat, French said. Additional cocaine was found in Heryford’s purse, he said. They also found more than $1,000.

Police acquired a warrant to search their apartment on Camino Colegio in Rohnert Park, where they found three long rifles and a pistol as well as “supporting evidence of drug sales,” according to police.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.