15 pounds of marijuana results in possession charges

YAKIMA, Wash. — Two California men face trial after being stopped in a car that state troopers said contained 15 pounds of marijuana.

The men — 21-year-old Fernando Mendoza of Santa Maria and 24-year-old Jose Rosales-Rodriguez of Visalia — were charged Wednesday in Yakima County Superior Court with possessing marijuana with the intent to deliver.

State troopers said they encountered an overwhelming smell of marijuana after pulling over a Toyota Camry on U.S. Highway 97 south of Toppenish on Saturday. The car was recorded going 73 mph in a 65 mph zone, according to the arrest report, which indicated the men were reportedly returning south after selling two pounds of marijuana in Wenatchee.

The troopers who made the arrests were working as part of the State Patrol’s Serious Highway Crimes Apprehension Team, an agency news release stated. The team’s troopers are trained to detect vehicles that may be transporting drugs.

Although Yakima and Sunnyside troopers are not assigned full time to the criminal interdiction team, patrol officials say they still make significant drug arrests.

Earlier this month, another trooper on the interdiction team reported seizing a pound of marijuana from a driver. Since the start of the year, local troopers have made 74 felony drug arrests, seized nearly $20,000 and six vehicles, and referred eight cases for follow-up investigation by drug agents, according to the news release.