Take Note: When Traveling With 108 Pounds Of Marijuana, Don't Tailgate; Air Freshener Is No Help

SONOMA COUNTY, CA – Two New York men were arrested Wednesday night after 108 pounds of marijuana were allegedly found in their rental car during a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 101, a Sonoma County sheriff's sergeant said.

A sheriff's deputy saw a black Toyota Avalon traveling too closely to a vehicle in front of it on southbound Highway 101 in downtown Santa Rosa around 9 p.m., Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

When the deputy stopped the car and contacted the driver, Stephen Molinero, 27, of Staten Island, New York, he smelled the odor of marijuana in the car, Crum said.

Molinero and his passenger, Almir Ramic, 29, of Staten Island, New York, denied any knowledge of marijuana in the car, Crum said.

The deputy's drug-sniffing canine Jags alerted to several duffle bags of processed marijuana that were double-wrapped, shrink sealed and disguised with air freshener, Crum said. The value of the marijuana in New
York is about $5,000 a pound, and Molinero was carrying $2,000 in cash, Crum said.

Both men were arrested and booked in the Sonoma County Jail for possession of marijuana for sale, transportation of marijuana for sale and conspiracy, but they were released on a $30,000 bail bond, Crum said.

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--Bay City News/Photo via Sonoma Co. Sheriff's Office