Pair arrested in Tonopah with 27 pounds of pot in car
TONOPAH - A man and a woman were arrested last week after the Nye County Sheriff’s Office discovered a large amount of marijuana while conducting a routine traffic stop.
Kelsey Smith and Mark David Azadi were arrested on Aug. 2, and both charged with a preliminary felony count of possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, after the sheriff’s office said they discovered 27 pounds of weed in the vehicle they were driving in Tonopah.
A NCSO deputy noticed a black sedan traveling on Main Street at 43 mph, in a 25-mph zone, and conducted a traffic stop.
Azadi and Smith were both run for warrants and license checks. Both occupants of the vehicle were shown to have valid licenses and no warrants.
As the deputy was running the two occupants’ names, he could smell an odor that from training and experience he knew was consistent with marijuana, the arrest report stated.
The deputy had Azadi and Smith step out of the vehicle separately to question them about the pot he could smell coming coming from inside the vehicle. Both Azadi and Smith allegedly told the deputy that they did not have any marijuana in the sedan.
The deputy proceeded to conduct a search of the vehicle based on smelling the odor of marijuana and discovered a small blue backpack in the trunk of the vehicle which contained a small bag of pot inside, police said.
When asked who the bag belonged to, Smith took responsibility for the bag, according to the arrest report. She told the deputy that she had bought the weed in Oregon and was taking it to Las Vegas, according to the NCSO.
Azadi admitted to the deputy that he knew that the bag of marijuana was in the vehicle and he, along with Smith, was placed into custody.
Both Azadi and Smith were booked into the Tonopah jail on the preliminary intent to sell marijuana charge. Azadi also faces minor traffic charges as well.
At the sheriff’s office, two deputies weighed all the marijuana found in Azadi and Smith’s vehicle and found it came to 27 pounds, the arrest report stated. The deputies also discovered a suitcase containing packing materials used to sell marijuana.
Azadi was being held on $20,245 bond, while Smith was held on $10,000 bond.
Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.
