10 Pounds of Pot Found in Luggage, Trash Bags

Two men were recently arrested and now face felony charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, after police found about 10 pounds of marijuana inside luggage during a traffic stop, according to Newtown Township Police. 

Police stopped a brown Honda at about 4:28 p.m. on Nov. 15 on the 3400 block of West Chester Pike when the vehicle appeared to be following too closely to the vehicle in front of it, according to police.

Police detected a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the car and both the driver and passenger appeared extremely nervous and would look towards each other before answering basic police questions, according to police.

Both men came back with no active warrants and had valid drivers licenses and police returned the identifications back to the men and said they were free to go, according to police 
 
Police then asked the driver, Joseph Newman, if there was anything illegal in the car such as guns or drugs and Newman replied no, according to police.

The police officer then asked Newman if he could conduct a search of the car for illegal contraband and Newman gave police consent to search the car, according to police.

During the search, police continued to detect the strong smell of marijuana and a K-9 partner, who is certified in narcotics detection, strongly indicated the same, according to police.

As a result of the K-9 indication and police observations, police opened the trunk of the car and immediately saw in plain view, a black trash bag filled with a large amount of packaged marijuana, according to police.

An additional two large packages of marijuana were also found inside a silver luggage bag also in the trunk, according to police.

In total, police retrieved nine large freezer bags and two smaller freezer bags filled with marijuana, about a total of 10 pounds, from the trunk of the Honda, Newtown Police Chief Christopher Lunn said. 

Newman, 31, of Lock Haven, Pa. and Jason Dean Webb, 41, of California, were placed into custody and transported to the police station.

About $2,000 and two cell phones were also seized during the arrest, Lunn said. 

Newman and Webb were each charged with felony counts of possession with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, criminal conspiracy and related offenses, according to court documents.

Webb was held in Delaware County Prison unable to post bail until Dec. 15 when he posted 10 percent of $200,000 cash bail, according to court documents. 

Newman remains held in Delaware County Prison unable to post 10 percent of $250,000 bail, according to court documents. 

Both await preliminary hearings.