A police officer followed his nose to find more than 20 pounds of marijuana in an SUV, according to court records.
A Jeep wreaked of marijuana as it drove along Interstate 65 south of Lebanon, and Whitestown K9 Officer Whitney Lushin smelled it as he followed it for four miles just to make sure, according to court records.
The driver sped up, changed lanes, and wouldn’t stop for Lushin until a Lebanon Police officer threw a tire deflating device onto the roadway, flattening one of the Jeep’s tires north of Lebanon late on Feb. 9.
Someone tossed vacuum sealed bags of marijuana from the passenger side all along the interstate as the Jeep evaded officers, Lushin reported. And police scrambled to collect them all. Of the 21 packages, only four had broken open, spilling out marijuana, Lushin wrote in his report.
Police seized multiple cell phones, a diamond encrusted Cartier watch, and a gold colored Draco pistol and loaded magazine for it from the men and Jeep, Lushin reported.
Driver Joshua U. Mancia, 19, of Lafayette is charged with dealing in marijuana at least 10 pounds as a level 5 felony, resisting law enforcement as a level 6 felony, and possession of marijuana, a B misdemeanor. The court approved forfeiture of $1,500 found on him because it is believed to have been used in drug trade.
Passenger Richard H. Gonzalez, 23, of Lafayette, is charged with dealing in marijuana at least 10 pounds as a level 5 felony, and possession of marijuana, a class B misdemeanor. He was released from the Boone County Jail and on Feb. 23 charged in Tippecanoe County with possession of marijuana.
Gonzalez was also charged in January in Montgomery County with dealing in marijuana.