New Mexico State Police seize 130 pounds of marijuana


New Mexico State Police Sgt. Tim Harvey arrested a man and woman on Aug. 12 for marijuana possession over 100 pounds, after he stopped their vehicle for a non-working rear license plate light. New Mexico State Police Capt. John Sena said Harvey first “observed” the 1993 maroon Ford Bronco, with a Texas license plate, northbound on U.S. 54.

“(He) also noticed that the vehicle was riding low in the back,” Sena said.

When the Bronco turned east on New Mexico 545, Harvey detained driver Juan Pablo Rubio, 25, from Canutillo, Texas.

Separately questioning Rubio and his passenger, Percilla Navarette, 18, Harvey “determined that their stories were ... different,” Sena said.

Harvey requested a drug-sniffing dog, brought by New Mexico Motor Transportation Division Officer Todd Cullers. The dog, Sena said, alerted.

New Mexico Magistrate Court Judge Richard Roy Stokely signed a search warrant. New Mexico Officers “executed” it at the Alamogordo, New Mexico State Police office, with dismantling assistance from the New Mexico Raven Team from the U.S. Border Patrol station, Sena said.

The marijuana, 130.4 pounds, was found on the “interior of the floorboard,” he said.
A 4-year-old girl also in the car was released to family members.
The New Mexico 12th Judicial District Attorney’s office is prosecuting.