Story Archive

Would You Believe “Personal Use”?

A Mesa County, Colo., sheriff’s deputy was on patrol, and even while driving could smell the familiar odor of fresh marijuana coming from a rental truck he was following in the town of Fruitvale. The truck was speeding, so he pulled it over and asked the driver, Sinh Chan Hoang, 53, if he had any marijuana in the truck. “Just a little,” the man said. Hoang agreed to show the deputy what a “little” was: he pulled up the rolling door, pulled out a trash bag, poked a finger through the plastic, and pulled out some weed. “It’s just a little bit,” Hoang told the deputy. “I can throw it out.” But the deputy could see other trash bags: in all, there were 87 bags holding 3,100 pounds of marijuana. Hoang and his passenger, Larry Tran, 49, were arrested and charged with felony possession with intent to distribute marijuana. (RC/Grand Junction Sentinel) ...Will they go to prison? For a little while.