569 pounds of pot seized

Rocky Mountain News

Published February 16, 2007 at midnight

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Colorado State Patrol troopers seized 569 pounds of marijuana during a traffic stop Monday on Interstate 70 about 20 miles west of Grand Junction, the patrol reported today.

CSP spokesman Master Trooper Ron Watkins said a trooper pulled over Arnoldo Escalante-Guiterrez, 36, who had no valid driver's license and spoke very little English.

A Spanish-speaking officer and a drug-sniffing dog were called to the scene and the dog immediately picked up on something in the bed of the 1999 Chevrolet pickup with a pop-up lid bed cover.

Escalante-Guiterrez gave officers permission to open the lid and they found 24 bundles of marijuana.

Escalante-Guiterrez was taken into custody and booked into the Mesa County jail on suspicion of possession of more than 8 ounces of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute, a special offender, a traffic lane violation, and driving without a driver's license.

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