28 pounds of marijuana lands pair in Colorado jail

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Two people traveling from Utah were arrested in western Colorado on Sunday after authorities found nearly 28 pounds of marijuana in their rental car.

Driver Melissa Van Wey, 20, of Kansas City, Mo., was being held on $10,000 bond at the Mesa County jail in Grand Junction on Monday. She faces two counts of marijuana possession as well as two traffic violations.

Passenger Robert Jones, 22, of Kansas City, Kan., was also being held on $10,000 bond at the jail. He faces one count of marijuana possession and one count of intent to sell marijuana.

The two were initially stopped for speeding Saturday by authorities in Blanding, Utah. At the time, police suspected that the couple were transporting drugs, but they did not have a drug-sniffing dog on hand to verify their suspicions.

The couple were allowed to continue on their way, but Colorado authorities were alerted to look for their vehicle, a white Nissan Altima with Kansas plates.

Sunday, the rental car was spotted going eastbound on Interstate 70 by Mesa County sheriff deputies. They pulled the vehicle over after Van Wey was seen failing to signal as the vehicle merged into a lane after leaving a truck stop in Fruita.

The vehicle was pulled over off of I-70, just west of Horizon Drive exit. The two told deputies that they had rented the car to visit Van Wey's uncle in Tucson, Ariz., after he allegedly suffered a stroke.

However, Van Wey acted very nervous while talking to the deputies, who called out a K-9 unit to check the car.

A drug-sniffing dog alerted to the trunk, which deputies searched and found a suitcase containing two bags of marijuana, one weighing 19.8 pounds and the other, 7.8 pounds.

Deputies also found more than $1,000 in cash in the front console of the vehicle, which both Van Wey and Jones denied belonging to them.

Van Wey and Jones were arrested at the scene, and taken to the Mesa County jail.