SWEETWATER COUNTY, WYO – An Ohio woman was arrested Tuesday and over 36 pounds of marijuana was seized after a routine traffic stop.
Sheriff Mike Lowell said a Sheriff’s Office K9 team was on routine patrol Tuesday night on Interstate 80, about nine miles west of Wamsutter, when they made a traffic stop.
The vehicle, a silver Buick Encore, was driven by 43-year-old Elaina A. Chilton of Springfield, Ohio. The K9 team’s drug dog alerted for the presence of drugs, and a subsequent search of the vehicle produced 33 vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana weighing a total of 36.42 pounds, as well as 100 individually-packaged “Brass Knuckles” liquid marijuana vape cartridges.
Chilton was taken into custody without incident. She is charged with Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana), Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana – Liquid Form), and Unlawful Manufacture or Delivery of a Controlled Substance (Marijuana). She remains in custody at the Sweetwater County Detention Center in lieu of a $15,000 bond.
Lowell said the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office has adopted a policy of not identifying its dog handlers and their K9 partners by name in the media in drug seizure cases due to nationwide incidences of threats against law enforcement officers and their dogs.
