Man arrested for allegedly having 22 pounds of pot in car

An Oregon man was arrested Thursday evening following a traffic stop and charged with trafficking in marijuana after Elmore County deputies allegedly found more than 22 pounds of pot in his car.

The suspect was identified as James Lewis Kelly, 53, from Oregon City, Ore. Kelly was being held in the Elmore County Detention Center and was due to be arraigned in court Friday.

The incident began when Elmore County Detective Kyle Moore made a traffic stop on I-84 the evening of Aug. 21.

James Lewis Kelly, 52, was charged with trafficking in marijuana.

Kelly, the driver, was traveling from Oregon to Nebraska. The owner of the vehicle was not present.

While Det. Moore spoke with Kelly, he allegedly observed Kelly becoming extremely nervous. Moore grew suspicious of Kelly's actions and responses to his questions and asked for consent to search the vehicle, which Kelly denied. Moore then used his K9 partner, Jackson, a certified drug dog, to conduct an exterior sweep of the vehicle. The dog issued an alert for drugs.

A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed approximately 22.5 pounds of marijuana, whose street value authorities estimated at approximately $100,000.