Police in Utah received the shock of a lifetime after pulling a motorist over for a broken headlight—a severed finger wrapped in cloth inside his wallet.
Orem police had stopped Victor Chavez-Zuniga, 27, on Thursday, over what was thought to be a routine traffic violation involving the headlight on the driver's side of his vehicle.
According to the arrest report, Chavez-Zuniga was pulled over near 300 South and 1200 West in Orem. After running his license, police discovered he had several active warrants against his name.
As a result, he was placed under arrest and handcuffed while officers began searching through his belongings. It was while looking through the contents of Chavez-Zuniga's wallet that the arresting officer made the grisly discovery of a severed finger.
According to the police booking affidavit quoted by KSL: "The finger had what appeared to be pus and blood on it. The joint was beginning to turn green and the fingernail appeared to be decayed."
The report also noted: "When officers removed the finger from the cloth wrap, a noticeable foul smell was observed."
Chavez-Zuniga was subsequently booked into the Utah County Jail where in addition to the outstanding warrants, he is facing a charge of abuse or desecration of a dead human body, which is a third-degree felony.
Court documents obtained by KSL said Chavez-Zuniga's outstanding warrants related to a 2018 conviction for attempted communications fraud and a 2017 conviction for forgery.
In 2018, Chavez-Zuniga was accused of providing people with fake pay stubs and W-2 documents to facilitate bank loans and encouraging people to take the money once approved.
He was charged with 15 felonies over the scheme but eventually pled guilty to one reduced charge. In 2017, he also pled guilty to forging pay stubs at his own business in order to obtain loans.
A warrant for his arrest was issued in December 2021, after he failed to appear at a court hearing set up to review his probation on the two cases.
Newsweek has contacted Orem Police and Utah County Jail for comment.
Back in April 2021, a man was arrested after police found his severed finger at the scene of a crime in Maricopa, Arizona.
Kevin Johnson allegedly severed his finger while attempting to slash his neighbor's car tires following an argument. He allegedly fled the scene, minus one finger, but left a bloody trail leading all the way to his front door.
In September 2021, a woman in Bolivia also went viral after revealing she discovered a severed human finger inside a burger she purchased from a local fast-food outlet. The restaurant was temporarily closed and fined following the incident.
