Voice of the Mid-Columbia | Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, Wash. |
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closeFriday, Oct. 30, 2009
State patrol drug team makes big pot bust
By Paula Horton, Herald staff writer
Washington State Patrol troopers patrolling Highway 97 south of Toppenish stopped the driver of a 2000 Toyota Camry for speeding and confiscated nearly 15 pounds of pot and $7,000 in cash.
The two troopers were working together as part of the Washington State Patrol's Serious Highway Criminal Apprehension Team, or SHCAT.
When a trooper ap-proached the driver, the trained narcotics canine handler and criminal interdiction trooper reportedly smelled an overwhelming odor of marijuana.
Fernando Mendoza, 21 of Santa Maria, Calif., along with his passenger Jose Rosales-Rodriguez, 24, of Visalia, Calif., were booked into the Yakima County jail on suspicion of possessing marijuana with intent to deliver. The cash and car also were seized.
The Washington State Patrol has 10 specially trained troopers in criminal interdiction, including one drug-detecting dog, in the Yakima/Sunnyside area.
Two troopers along with the drug dog are specifically assigned to work as a team when not responding to calls for service or other assigned duties.
Since the beginning of 2009, Yakima/Sunnyside area troopers have made 459 drug arrests, 74 of which were felonies, and seized nearly $20,000, along with six vehicles. Troopers worked closely with local drug task forces, referring eight for follow-up investigations.
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