The Pantagraph
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BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Police confiscated about 60 pounds of marijuana in a traffic stop that led to the arrest of a man and woman from Michigan early Tuesday near north Normal.
Otis D. Taylor, 49, of Detroit, and Paula M. Ledbetter, 34, of Inkster, Mich., were in the McLean County jail Tuesday in lieu of posting $50,000 each on charges of unlawful possession with intent to deliver marijuana, unlawful possession of marijuana and marijuana trafficking.
Illinois State Police Lt. Ted Kerrn said deputies stopped the minivan Taylor was driving about 12:25 a.m. on northbound Interstate 55 near Mile Marker 167. He said Taylor was stopped for improper lane usage and arrested for driving with a suspended license.
Suspicious circumstances led troopers to walk a police dog around the minivan, Kerrn said, and the marijuana was found in the back of the vehicle. Kerrn said he didn’t know the suspicious circumstances, but he thought the officers’ reasons included inconsistencies in Taylor’s story and his lack of a valid license.
Assistant State’s Attorney Sandy Thompson said officers found a black duffle bag with the marijuana inside. Taylor later told officers he was being paid to deliver the bag to Michigan, and he suspected, but didn’t know, there were drugs inside, she said.
Ledbetter told police she learned during the trip the bag was being delivered from Oklahoma to Detroit, Thompson said.
Kerrn said his officers are watchful for signs of drug trafficking, and they have the huge responsibilities of trying to maintain traffic safety and stop drug transport.
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