Troopers snag 512 pounds of marijuana in two busts

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The Nebraska State Patrol took an estimated $768,900 worth of marijuana off of Interstate 80 this weekend after two routine traffic stops.
A traffic stop near Hershey on Interstate 80 Saturday led to the discovery of nearly 478 pounds of marijuana.

The bed of the green 2002 GMC pickup, driven by Juan Hernandez, 42, of Glendale Heights Ill., was filled with 18 individually wrapped marijuana bundles with a total weight of 477.6 pounds, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.
Bernardo Reyes, 45, also of Glendale Heights, was also taken into custody. Each man was charged with distribution with intent to distribute marijuana in Lincoln County Court Monday and each was held on bonds of $250,000.
The NSP said the truck was pulled over at 8:30 p.m. because the left headlight was out. Once stopped, the trooper asked to view the contents of the pickup bed, covered by a hard plastic cover.
The marijuana was discovered after the men opened the tailgate, the NSP said.
Neither man was formally charged as neither said they could understand English good enough.
Lincoln County Judge Kent Turnbull agreed to bring both men back over to court Tuesday with an interpreter to face former charges.
On Sunday, troopers stopped a 2006 Trailblazer.
After a search, troopers discovered 35 pounds of marijuana in 15 individually packaged bundles.
The driver of the Trailblazer, Arnoldo R. Almandarez, 32, from Minnesota, was charged with possession of marijuana with intent to deliver.
Turnbull set Almandarez’s bond at $100,000 after formally charging him Monday. He will face a preliminary hearing December 14.
Turnbull asked how the marijuana was packaged.
"When I see that quantity packaged that way, it's more serious," Turnbull said.
"That's why I need an attorney," Almandarez said. "The quantity was set more than it actually was." A female and two children who were accompanying Almandarez in the Trailblazer were released by troopers Sunday after he claimed the marijuana as his own.

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