A pair of men from California each face a felony count of possession of a controlled substance with intent distribute in Platte County after being arrested last week.
Gregory Peterson
The 71-year-old driver and 24-year-old passenger — both males — gave conflicting stories for a cross-country trip. Jesse Robinson, 24, of Vacaville, Calif. first said Gregory Peterson wanted to visit an aunt in an unknown city in Florida before changing his story to indicate he wanted to move the elder man into a retirement home.
Peterson of Antioch, Calif. told authorities he wanted to visit family in Florida until “he was tired of visiting family.” After being taken into custody, he said the marijuana found in the vehicle belonged to his passenger, who was paying him $2,000 to serve as the driver.
Jesse Robinson
According to court documents, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped the vehicle traveling southbound on Interstate 29 in Platte County at the rest area between Dearborn and Camden Point at about 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, Sept. 1 for failing to maintain its lane. The trooper noted the smell of raw marijuana coming from inside the vehicle and marijuana fibers on Peterson’s shirt.
Robinson admitted to possessing a small bag of marijuana in the back seat.
A subsequent probable cause search of the vehicle found three duffel bags containing 113 vacuum sealed bags of marijuana weighing a total of about 115 pounds. The material field tested positive as marijuana.