Stop yields marijuana; two charged
From Staff Reports
Blount County deputies seized more than 10 pounds of marijuana and arrested two people during a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon on the U.S. Highway 129 Bypass.
Soto Jonathan Quintana, 21, of Knoxville, was charged with possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance (marijuana) with intent to resell. He was being held in the Blount County Detention Facility on a $25,000 bond.
A female passenger, Talia Betsabe Sanchez, 22, Wheeler Road, Louisville, was charged with criminal impersonation. She was released on $1,000 bond and turned over to Knox County authorities on an outstanding warrant.
Both were scheduled to appear at 9 a.m. Aug. 1 hearings in Blount County General Sessions Court.
According to a Sheriff’s Office release, the arrests came after a deputy conducted a traffic stop Tuesday afternoon on a Honda Civic in the southbound lane of the U.S. Highway 129 Bypass at the pedestrian bridge.
The stop resulted from a traffic violation, the release states, and the deputy received consent from the driver, Quintana, to search the vehicle.
A K-9 alerted on the exterior of the vehicle, and a search of the inside turned up more than 10 pounds of marijuana.
Sanchez was charged with criminal impersonation after initially providing a false name, the release states.
