A routine traffic stop turned into a drug bust Monday night when an Alachua County Sheriff's deputy found 1.8 pounds of marijuana under a car's hood.
Harvey K. Mason, 21, of Williston, and his roommate, Louis K. Marks, 20, were charged with marijuana possession with intent to sell. They were both being held at Alachua County Jail as of Tuesday night.
Deputy Victor Borrero stopped Mason's white Jeep at 17000 SW 134th Ave. on Monday night because one of the Jeep's taillights was blocking the license plate. After Mason stopped, Borrero could smell the marijuana, according to an arrest report.
Borrero asked him about the smell, and Mason admitted he kept a small bag of marijuana under one of his seats. Borrero searched Mason and found a small scale in his pocket, which the officer suspected Mason used for weighing drugs.
When Borrero searched the car, he found a small green vial under the passenger's seat. He asked whom it belonged to.
"Mine!" Mason and Marks said at the same time, according to the arrest report.
They told Borrero they drove around Gainesville on Monday night looking for "quality weed" and bought the drugs for $25, according to police.
Borrero continued to search the car. After he opened the hood of the Jeep, he found a green bag on the driver's side engine compartment, according to the report.
Inside, he found a white bag. Inside the white bag, he found two Ziploc bags containing a total of 1.8 pounds of marijuana.
