Pot bust yields 30 pounds

WSP seizes $66,000 in marijuana

OTHELLO — A routine traffic stop near here Sunday resulted in the seizure of 30 pounds of marijuana, and the arrest of a 24-year-old Othello man.

A Washington State Patrol trooper arrested 24-year-old Omar Guzman for speeding eastbound on Highway 26, and later found a suitcase full of marijuana and a handgun in a vehicle also occupied by his daughter.

Guzman was initially arrested for driving with a suspended license. The WSP said Guzman provided troopers with an Illinois drivers license during the stop at about 11 a.m., but troopers later found out he had a suspended license and placed him under arrest.

The WSP searched his 1992 Infinity as part of the arrest and found a suitcase filled with marijuana in the back seat and a 9 mm Smith & Wesson handgun was found in a driver's door pocket. The street value of the marijuana was priced at $66,000, the WSP said.

"It's a significant seizure, not anywhere near our largest," said WSP Trooper Rich Magnussen, who cited a bust in Ellensburg last year in which several hundred pounds of marijuana were seized.

Guzman had been traveling with his 3-year-old daughter, who officials said had been sitting unrestrained in the back seat next to the suitcase of marijuana. The child was released to a family member and the WSP said Child Protective Services will be investigating the incident.

Guzman was booked into the Adams County Jail for possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, felon in possession of a firearm, involving a person under 18 in an unlawful controlled substance transaction, possession of a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and driving with a suspended license.