Hwy. 97 stop turns up 56 lbs. of pot; man arrested

A California man was arrested on Sunday afternoon during an Oregon State Police traffic stop on Highway 97 south of Madras after the trooper found about 56 pounds of marijuana and a small amount of oxycodone in his pickup truck.

Around 3:50 p.m., an OSP senior trooper stopped a 2001 Ford Ranger pickup driven by John Stonebarger, 54, of Fall River Mills, Calif., for a speed violation about eight miles south of Madras.

An investigation during the traffic stop led to a search of the pickup and the discovery of the large amount of marijuana within the bed and in the passenger cab, troopers said, along with oxycodone tablets.

Troopers said the drugs have a combined street value of about $43,000.

Stonebarger was arrested and lodged at the Jefferson County Jail on drug possession distribution and manufacture charges. Bail was set at $63,000.

Troopers said he was also driving with a suspended/revoked California driver’s license and was cited for no driver license, violation of basic rule and driving uninsured.

OSP was assisted at the scene by the OSP Fish & Wildlife Division and theJefferson County Sheriff’s Office.