Three face marijuana charges

Published 6:00 am Tuesday, January 15, 2002

Three Missouri men face possession of drug charges in LincolnCounty after more than 10 pounds of marijuana was discovered intheir vehicle over the weekend.

Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Officer ChrisPicou arrested Charles Callahan, 34; James McKinney, 36; and ErnestRhodes, 36, all of St. Louis, Missouri, for possession of marijuanawith intent to distribute after discovering they were allegedlytransporting marijuana from Houston, Texas to St. Louis.

Picou pulled over their 1998 Ford Explorer for a trafficviolation on Interstate 55 near the 45 mile marker around 4 a.m.Saturday.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

“The subjects were nervous and they volunteered for theirvehicle to be searched,” Picou recalled. “When I searched thevehicle, I found 10 packages of marijuana in a speaker box.”

The packages each contained approximately one to one andone-half pounds of marijuana in brick form.

“We also seized $2,900 in cash, a Gateway laptop computer andthe vehicle,” Picou said.

Lincoln County Sheriff Lynn Boyte was glad to see more drugscome off the street after “another day at the office.”

“No doubt what we’ve done has made a big impact on the drugshere and coming through here,” Boyte commented, mentioning how drugapprehension, education and enforcement combine to create a strong,positive force against drugs.

Callahan, who has a criminal history and was on federalprobation, remains in the Lincoln County Jail on a $250,000 bond,while McKinney and Rhodes have $100,000 bonds.