Disabled vehicle leads to marijuana bust in Washington County, 2 taken into custody

WASHINGTON COUNTY -- A hunch from a sheriff's deputy led to a pot bust in Washington County on Tuesday, Sept. 3.

"It started out just as many routine calls do, a call for service of a disabled vehicle," said Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis.

According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, around 7:15 p.m. a deputy located two subjects, a 31-year-old Clintonville man and a 25-year-old Embarrass man, walking on Interstate 41 near Hillside Road in the Town of Polk.

"We offered to get them a tow truck, they thought that maybe they simply needed a jump start. So we arranged for a tow truck to come to the scene and jump their vehicle," said Sheriff Schulteis.

As the deputy started talking with the two stranded men, he had a hunch they weren't being honest.

Jacob Decleene, Steve Friebolin

Martin Schulteis

"Their story of where they were coming from, and where they were going, didn't match up at all," Schulteis said.

While the tow truck was on the way, the deputy radioed for a nearby K-9 unit to come do a search around the outside of the car.

"Once they saw the dog get out of the vehicle, the K-9 handler indicated that they both got extremely nervous," said Schulteis.

What they found stunned deputies.

Inside the car's glove box was two pounds of marijuana, a small amount of a powdery substance, a scale and a grinder. Not long after, two men were put in handcuffs and arrested.

Both were charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession with intent to distribute.

"It boils down to: law enforcement was there to assist people. We were there as a community caretaker function, to stop and help people. And that investigation swung the other way towards a criminal investigation," Schulteis said.

The sheriff said had their car not broken down, or if they each had gotten their stories straight, they most likely would have gotten away.