For further information please contact: Sergeant Scott E. Meyer
816-622-0800, ext. 259
A040907
April 24, 2009

EMPHASIS: Traffic Stop Results In Drug Arrest On I-70 In Lafayette County

On April 23, 2009, at approximately 10:30 a.m., members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Team stopped a 2002 Peterbilt tractor-trailer unit on eastbound Interstate 70 at Missouri Route H in Lafayette County for a compliance check. The driver of the tractor-trailer gave the troopers consent to search the vehicle. The search of the tractor-trailer was conducted at the Post A-3 Weigh Station on Interstate 70 with the assistance of officers from the Highway Patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division. A search of the tractor-trailer resulted in the seizure of approximately six hundred pounds of processed marijuana located within the truck’s load of produce.

The driver, Jose A. Marichalar, 27, of Mission, Texas, was arrested for trafficking in the first degree and transported to the Lafayette County Jail.

The charge for which Jose A. Marichalar was arrested is a mere accusation and not evidence of guilt. Evidence in support of the charge must be presented before a court of competent jurisdiction whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
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