(La Porte County, IN) - A man and woman from out of state are accused of transporting 1,400 pounds of marijuana in a box truck stopped by police in La Porte County.

 

Jacob Pasquale, 35, and Tamy Brennan, 57, are charged in La Porte Circuit Court with Level 5 felony dealing marijuana.

 

According to court documents, an Indiana State Police trooper on August 19 stopped the eastbound box truck after it twice drove partially on the shoulder of the Indiana Toll Road a few miles west of the La Porte exit.

 

Both suspects from Ohio on August 9 flew to Oregon where the box truck was rented for two weeks with a scheduled return to Buffalo, New York, police said.

 

Pasquale told the officer he was helping his sister-in-law move and the truck contained her belongings such as a washer, dryer and kitchen table.

 

Suspecting he wasn’t telling the truth, the officer expressed a desire to search the back end of the truck but Pasquale claimed he didn’t have the key to the padlock on the door.

 

Both suspects also shook their heads when asked if there was anything illegal in the truck.

 

Another officer came with a K-9 dog, which detected the presence of drugs. The padlock was then cut off the truck by the officers, who discovered nearly 50 cardboard boxes strapped to the inside wall.

 

Police said all but one of the boxes contained vacuum sealed packages of marijuana weighing slightly more than pound.  The other box contained 56 pounds of marijuana wax.

 

Just over $2,500 in cash was also seized from both suspects, police said.

 

Initially, police said Pasquale claimed the woman was his mother but later described her as his mother-in-law.  Both suspects could face anywhere from a one to six year sentence.