Authorities in western Iowa say a routine traffic stop on Interstate 80 Sunday afternoon led to the discovery of 165 pounds of marijuana. Pottwattamie County Sheriff Jeff Danker says a deputy pulled over a car for speeding as it was headed eastbound on I-80 near Council Bluffs. The driver of the car, 26-year old Nicole Tuthill of Murietta, California, claimed she was a professional snowboarder who spent the winter months in Boulder, Colorado. Danker says the deputy didn’t believe the story.
“She had a snowboard in (her car) and said she was going to Des Moines to visit a friend,” Danker said. “Well, why do you need a snowboard in your vehicle?” The car had a couple of large, clamshell carrying containers on the roof and the deputy noticed other items he felt were suspicious.
“Some incense and other things in the car that didn’t check out,” Danker explained. Tuthill denied the deputy’s request to search the interior of the car, but a K-9 “hit” on the scent of drugs outside the vehicle. The pot was found in the roof-mounted luggage carriers. Tuthill was taken to the Pottawattamie County Jail on charges of possession with the intent to deliver marijuana.
Contributed by Ric Hansen, KJAN, Atlantic