CASPER, Wyo. — Casper police have arrested two Colorado men after both showed officers their separate stashes of marijuana in their motel rooms.

The Casper Star-Tribune reports that Eric Jarrin told the front desk his marijuana had been stolen Tuesday. Management then called authorities, who arrived and confronted Jarrin.

An arrest affidavit states Jarrin told officer he had a sticky form of marijuana, “dabs,” left, but all his plant marijuana had been stolen. Jarrin showed officers his “dabs,” and then was arrested for possession of marijuana.

A separate arrest affidavit states Christopher Rathe had walked passed investigating officers smelling like marijuana. Officers confronted him, and he too took authorities to a motel room and showed them a marijuana stash. He then was arrested for possession of marijuana.

— Associated Press


FRESNO — Keith Foster testified Wednesday that he has been falsely accused of drug trafficking and blamed “politics in Fresno” and inaccurate reporting by the media for his demise as the city’s deputy police chief.

On his second day on the witness stand, Foster lashed out at the treatment he received from federal agents after his arrest in March 2015.

He said federal agents took him to the Madera County jail and refused to tell him the allegations, other than being a participant in three conspiracies.

He testified he was worried about his family because the FBI ordered correctional officers not to give him access to a phone.

That night, Foster testified, a correctional officer told him that television news was reporting that he was “the kingpin of the Foster family drug trafficking organization.”

Foster is accused of participating in three conspiracies to sell heroin, marijuana and oxycodone. Six other defendants who were arrested with Foster — including two of his nephews — have all taken plea deals. Foster, who was second in command of the Fresno Police Department and Chief Jerry Dyer’s apparent heir, is the last remaining defendant. If convicted, Foster faces at least 20 years in prison and stiff fines.

The case against Foster is built on wiretaps and surveillance of him by agents with the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In the wiretaps Foster can be heard talking about buying drugs. The prosecution contends Foster was trafficking in marijuana, oxycodone and heroin.

Sacramento Bee


Photo slideshow — article continues below

  • An agent of the the National Forensic Science Institute (INACIF) tests seized drugs before burning them in the back yard of the INACIF headquarters, in Pedro Brand, Dominican Republic on May 11, 2017. Some 1,2 tonnes of drugs - mainly cocaine, crack and marijuana - were set ablaze. / AFP PHOTO / Erika SANTELICESERIKA SANTELICES/AFP/Getty Images

BOULDER, Colo. — Authorities have arrested a man accused of shooting three people to death in a Colorado home where more than 100 marijuana plants were being grown.

Boulder County sheriff’s officials say 24-year-old Garrett Coughlin, of Lakewood, was arrested Tuesday on charges that include first-degree murder and robbery. He is due in court Wednesday.

The bodies of 54-year-old Wallace White, 56-year-old Kelly Sloat-White and 39-year-old Emory Fraker were found in the home southwest of Boulder on April 15. An arrest affidavit says that after the slayings, Coughlin traveled out of state to his cousin’s home, where he left a gun that was later linked to the crime scene. Witnesses also saw him with large amounts of packaged marijuana.

Booking documents do not indicate if Coughlin has hired an attorney.

— Associated Press


CLOVIS, N.M. — A Clovis man already incarcerated for prior drug convictions has been sentenced to 24 years in prison for trafficking in controlled substances and distribution of marijuana.

Prosecutors say 42-year-old Bernardo Baca also was convicted last Friday on charges of tampering with evidence and resisting arrest.

He sentenced Wednesday on convictions stemming from a scheme to smuggle drugs into the Curry County jail.

Prosecutors say a package containing methamphetamine and marijuana was found in an alley near the jail.

They say Baca’s girlfriend was jailed at the time and the drugs were originally placed in a place where she could pick them up when she went outside for recreation.

Prosecutors say Baca’s 24-year sentence will run concurrently with the prison term he’s currently serving.

Associated Press


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