BOZEMAN — A man is facing drug distribution and stalking charges in Bozeman after allegedly attempting to lure women into his car by offering them cocaine.
Charging documents say police arrested 27-year-old Ronaldo Rodriguez after he allegedly attempted to lure two women into his vehicle with an offer of illegal drugs near Wheat Drive and 7th Avenue on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.
The reporting Bozeman Police officer said the call came in around 8:35 p.m. on Sunday. The woman who called in the report said she believed Rodriguez was attempting to traffic women as his vehicle matched the description in a recent Bozeman Police Facebook post.
The woman said neither she or another woman Rodriguez allegedly offered cocaine entered his vehicle. Charging documents say the woman told Rodriguez she was calling the police, prompting him to speed off.
WATCH RELATED: Bozeman Police say calls for crimes rising in number, intensity
According to charging documents, Rodriguez was later located in the WinCo parking lot. He was reportedly agitated, not cooperative, and asked to speak to an attorney. The reporting officer said he did not question Rodriguez following his request for an attorney.
The officer said in charging documents Rodriguez’s vehicle appeared lived-in and was in disarray, with evidence of drug use inside.
The officer said physical damage to Rodriguez’s vehicle made it apparent it was the same one involved in two prior cases—in one, the suspect sexually assaulted a woman, and in the other, the suspect held a knife to a woman who refused to get in his vehicle.
WATCH MORE: 2 police standoffs in 2 months at same Bozeman house
Charging documents say Rodriguez was taken into custody based on a K9 search indicating illegal drugs in his vehicle and a positive identification of the vehicle from the two women who reported him.
The reporting officer said he obtained a search warrant for Rodriguez’s vehicle and found multiple dollar bills and other objects containing cocaine residue, along with 1.2 grams of cocaine.
Rodriguez was arrested on charges of criminal distribution of dangerous drugs, stalking, and criminal possession of drug paraphernalia.
