Traffic stop leads to drug arrest

Two persons traveling from out of state on Interstate 80 in Cheyenne County were arrested last week and were each charged with four drug related felonies.

On the night of Jan. 16, a Nebraska State Trooper arrested driver Joshua Feyes, 36, and his passenger Melissa Janssen, 36, after allegedly finding almost 10 pounds of illegal drugs within the vehicle in which they were traveling.

The trooper stopped the eastbound vehicle for a speeding violation near mile marker 52 on the interstate. Once the vehicle was pulled over, the trooper learned that Feyes was on probation for a previous drug violation.

Feyes reportedly admitted to the trooper that his probation officer did not know he was traveling out of state. The trooper then detected a smell of marijuana coming from Feyes, according to the arrest affidavit. The trooper then questioned Janssen, Feyes’s fiancé about the smell of marijuana.

At first, Janssen allegedly admitted to working on a marijuana farm in California and stated that is why she smelled like the drug. After being informed that the trooper would search the car, Janssen reportedly confessed to having some of what she referred to as medicine in the vehicle.

Janssen turned over a container that held two electronic smoking devices, which Janssen admitted had been used to smoke hashish, or a concentrated, extracted form of THC, according to the report.

Upon a search of the vehicle, the trooper allegedly found three jars of hashish, which Janssen reportedly admitted was her medicine. Additionally, the trooper found medical marijuana cards belonging to both Feyes and Janssen in the vehicle, according to the arrest affidavit.

Further inspection reportedly revealed around four pounds of hashish and around five pounds of marijuana in the luggage rack on top of the car. According to the report, the hashish was packaged in eight separate containers, which were double food saver wrapped. The marijuana was in five separate baggies.

Both Janssen and Feyes were charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, possession of hashish with intent to distribute, no drug tax stamps and possession of over one pound of marijuana, all felonies.