NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEBRASKA STATE PATROL
www.nsp.state.ne.us
Contact:  Deb Collins 402-479-4985
February 5, 2008   

Troopers Seize Marijuana in Separate Stops

(Lincoln, NE) – A total of 114 lbs. of marijuana was seized in three separate traffic stops by Troopers with the Nebraska State Patrol along Interstate 80 from Grand Island to Lincoln.   The stops occurred in a two-day period, February 2, 2008 through February 4, 2008.

Around 2:30 p.m., on Monday, February 4, 2008, a Trooper with Headquarters Troop-Lincoln stopped an eastbound 2008 Dodge Avenger with Illinois plates for Following Too Close.  The stop occurred on Interstate 80 near the 56th Street Interchange, in Lancaster County.  The Trooper received consent to search the vehicle.  The search led to the seizure of 106 lbs. of marijuana.  The marijuana was located in luggage in the trunk of the vehicle.   The driver of the vehicle 30-year-old Keona Williams of Warren, Michigan, and a passenger in the vehicle 30-year-old Nicole Smith of Detroit, Michigan, were lodged in the Lancaster County Jail, each on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.

Two separate traffic stops in Hall County on Saturday, February 2, 2008, resulted in the seizure of nearly eight-pounds of marijuana.    Around 8:20 a.m. on Saturday, a Trooper with Troop-C Grand Island made a traffic stop of a 1993 Infinity with California plates.  Consent to search the vehicle was given to the Trooper.  The search led to the seizure of a little more than three-pounds of marijuana located in luggage in the trunk.   The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle 25-year-old Jonathon Nierengarten of San Francisco, California, was lodged in the Hall County Jail on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.   

Shortly before 9:00 p.m. a Trooper with Troop-C Grand Island made a traffic stop of a 2008 Ford rental van with California plates.  A Hall County Sheriff’s Office canine indicated an odor of drugs coming from the vehicle.  A search of the van led to the seizure of 4.5 lbs of marijuana in luggage in the rear portion of the van.  The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle 31-year-old Justin Brooks of Calistoga, California, was lodge in the Hall County Jail on a charge of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Deliver.

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