An early morning traffic stop for a broken tail light in South Pasadena Tuesday landed the driver in jail when about three pounds of marijuana and $116,000 in cash allegedly were found in the trunk of the man’s car.
An officer pulled the suspect over about 1 a.m. in the 1100 block of Huntington Drive and while approaching his vehicle got a whiff of burnt marijuana coming from inside, South Pasadena Police Cpl. Craig Phillips said.
“The officer asked the driver, who was the sole occupant, about the smell and the driver admitted to smoking marijuana while driving the vehicle,” Phillips said.
After being removed from the vehicle, the driver also admitted to having “a few pounds” of pot in the car’s trunk, the corporal said.
“Officers gained consent to retrieve the marijuana from the trunk,” Phillips said. “Officers found almost three pounds of marijuana and $116,000 in U.S. currency. The subject was unable to justify the large amounts of drugs and cash and was arrested under suspicion of illegally transporting marijuana for sale.”
The man, a 30-year-old Los Angeles man whose name was not immediately available, was taken to the police station jail and a search warrant was later served at his home, where “large amounts of marijuana and firearms” were seized, Phillips said.
“The suspect is now facing multiple possible felony charges,” Phillips said.