(La Porte County, IN) - Two men could face prison time after caught passing through La Porte County with an alleged bulk shipment of black market marijuana wax.

 

Roman Alvarez, 32, of Gilbert, Arizona and Sean Downing, 45, of Makawao, Hawaii are each charged in La Porte Circuit Court with Level 5 felony dealing in marijuana.

 

According to court documents, the men on April 17 were in an SUV rented in southern California stopped by La Porte County Police for tailgating a semi-truck on the Indiana Toll Road near Rolling Prairie.

 

Downing claimed to be a licensed carrier of cannabis in Hawaii traveling to smoke shops in New York City where he was looking to become a partner in the businesses, police said.

 

While recreational marijuana is legal in New York, only medical marijuana is legal in Hawaii and only if someone has three grams or less of the drug. In Indiana, both forms of marijuana remain illegal.

 

Suspecting falsehoods in their reasons given for traveling, a drug sniffing dog was brought out and detected suspected narcotics in the vehicle, police said.

 

According to court documents, a search of the vehicle produced three totes each containing 16 large, clear bottles of THC wax. Two more large wax filled bottles were found inside two cardboard boxes in the vehicle.

 

A search of Downing’s cell phone further enhanced the suspicions of law enforcement from chats revealing concerns about being caught and having been followed for several miles by a police officer earlier in their trip, according to court documents.

 

Both men could each face anywhere from a one to six year sentence.