Two North Carolina men busted by the Tooele County Sheriff’s office for having over 78 pounds of marijuana in their car will face felony drug possession and firearm charges.
Mark Anthony Smith, 23, of Chocowinty, and Matthew Cameron Smith, 21, of Winterville, are scheduled to make their initial appearances in 3rd District Court on Feb. 16 before Judge Robert Adkins.
Mark and Matthew Smith were both charged with third-degree felony possession of a class C substance with intent to distribute and third-degree felony possession of a firearm by a restricted person. The Smiths are not related, according to the Tooele County Sheriff’s Office.
According to the probable cause statement from the sheriff’s office, deputies Nicholas Yale and Scott Caldwell pulled over the Honda Accord driven by Mark Smith after he changed lanes without using a turn signal on the evening of Jan. 27.
The deputies noticed that Mark Smith appeared to be nervous and Yale questioned him separately. The deputies were also suspicious of inconsistent stories from the Smiths, who claimed they were in Denver for the AFC Championship Game on Jan. 24 before stopping in Reno on their way back home, according to the sheriff’s office.
During the conversation with Deputy Yale, Mark Smith admitted to having a small amount of marijuana for personal use. Mark Smith showed the deputies a soda can with a false bottom, under which the marijuana was stored.
The location of the small amount of personal use marijuana gave probable cause to search the vehicle, according to the Tooele County Sheriff’s office. When deputies searched the car, they located 78.5 pounds of marijuana in vacuum sealed plastic bags, as well as $1,300 in cash and a loaded .44 Magnum handgun.
The street value of the recovered marijuana is estimated at more than $400,000.
