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Deadwood - An Arizona man nabbed by Deadwood police in July for hauling 150 pounds of marijuana was sentenced Tuesday afternoon to 10 years in the state prison.
Deadwood police and Lawrence County deputies say they found the marijuana after they searched a hidden compartment in a pickup driven by Carlos Salazar Jr., 29, of Phoenix.
The discovery was the largest single marijuana bust in the Deadwood Police Department's history. Salazar said he was en route to Minnesota.
Salazar was sentenced in 4th Circuit Court in Deadwood, where Judge Warren Johnson levied sentence on Salazar's guilty plea to possession of more than 10 pounds of marijuana.
The sentencing was conducted with the aid of a Spanish-speaking interpreter.
Salazar, who has been held in Lawrence County Jail since his arrest, told Judge Johnson that he chose to work for the illegal drug trade to raise quick cash to pay for medical expenses for his wife, who was expecting a child.
Salazar said he was a dental surgeon in Mexico, and he sought residence in the United States because of low wages in Mexico.
Judge Johnson asked Salazar why he chose to haul marijuana on July 3, after he had already been arrested June 17 for attempting to sell 4 pounds of methamphetamine in California for $77,000. Salazar said he desperately needed money for his pregnant wife and so he agreed to transport the drugs.
Deadwood police Sgt. Joe Leveque stopped Salazar's 1993 Nissan pickup near Deadwood's lower Main Street parking lot because it did not have functioning taillights.
Leveque became suspicious of Salazar's statements and summoned the canine drug-detection unit from Lawrence County Sheriff's Office.
The dog detected the odor of illegal drugs near the back bumper of the pickup. They lowered the pickup's tailgate and found an access panel that later revealed 32 packages of marijuana under a shallow compartment running the length of the pickup box.
Police have said that Highway 85, which runs through Deadwood to Interstate 90, is a secondary route for some drug traffickers.
Along with the 10-year prison sentence, Salazar was also ordered to pay more than $1,600 in court costs.
By Tim Velder
Northern Hills Bureau
https://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/01/12/news/local/news09.txt
Deadwood police and Lawrence County deputies say they found the marijuana after they searched a hidden compartment in a pickup driven by Carlos Salazar Jr., 29, of Phoenix.
The discovery was the largest single marijuana bust in the Deadwood Police Department's history. Salazar said he was en route to Minnesota.
Salazar was sentenced in 4th Circuit Court in Deadwood, where Judge Warren Johnson levied sentence on Salazar's guilty plea to possession of more than 10 pounds of marijuana.
The sentencing was conducted with the aid of a Spanish-speaking interpreter.
Salazar, who has been held in Lawrence County Jail since his arrest, told Judge Johnson that he chose to work for the illegal drug trade to raise quick cash to pay for medical expenses for his wife, who was expecting a child.
Salazar said he was a dental surgeon in Mexico, and he sought residence in the United States because of low wages in Mexico.
Judge Johnson asked Salazar why he chose to haul marijuana on July 3, after he had already been arrested June 17 for attempting to sell 4 pounds of methamphetamine in California for $77,000. Salazar said he desperately needed money for his pregnant wife and so he agreed to transport the drugs.
Deadwood police Sgt. Joe Leveque stopped Salazar's 1993 Nissan pickup near Deadwood's lower Main Street parking lot because it did not have functioning taillights.
Leveque became suspicious of Salazar's statements and summoned the canine drug-detection unit from Lawrence County Sheriff's Office.
The dog detected the odor of illegal drugs near the back bumper of the pickup. They lowered the pickup's tailgate and found an access panel that later revealed 32 packages of marijuana under a shallow compartment running the length of the pickup box.
Police have said that Highway 85, which runs through Deadwood to Interstate 90, is a secondary route for some drug traffickers.
Along with the 10-year prison sentence, Salazar was also ordered to pay more than $1,600 in court costs.
By Tim Velder
Northern Hills Bureau
https://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2005/01/12/news/local/news09.txt
