A Juneau man was arrested Wednesday in Oregon after being stopped with drugs and money in his vehicle.
An Oregon State Police trooper stopped a 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe on Interstate 5 near near the Medford area in Jackson County for several traffic violations at about 5:20 p.m., according to an OSP spokesman.
The trooper reportedly observed indications of criminal activity and obtained consent to search the Tahoe. The search of the vehicle revealed approximately 22 pounds of marijuana, 6.8 pounds of cocaine and over $6,700 in cash, the release stated. The narcotics were found in the luggage area of the vehicle.
No further details were being released because it is an active investigation, the spokesman said.
The driver of the vehicle, Carlos Zavala Flores, 38, of Juneau, and the passenger, Jorge Armando Lopez-Villareal, 27, of California, were arrested and taken to the Jackson County Jail.
Zavala has been charged with manufacture, possession and delivery of cocaine. He was arraigned in Circuit Court and remains in jail on $500,000 bail. A preliminary hearing into the evidence was set for May 4.
Flores had been implicated in a 2011 drug deal in Juneau that sent two twin brothers to prison. Flores faced three counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the third degree for possession with intent to deliver, a class B felony, as well as two counts of misconduct involving a controlled substance in the fourth degree for keeping a building or vehicle to distribute a controlled substance, a class C felony. He subsequently pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor counts of possessing a controlled substance.
• Contact reporter Liz Kellar at 523-2246 or liz.kellar@juneauempire.com.
