Elderly Couple Claims All This Pot Was for Christmas Gifts

Nebraska police stumbled upon a Christmas surprise during a routine traffic stop in Nebraska Tuesday. Per the York News-Times, an elderly couple claims the 60 pounds of high-grade marijuana stashed in the topper of their Toyota Tacoma pickup was meant for holiday presents. Patrick Jiron, 80, and Barbara Jiron, 70, were en route to Vermont from California when they were pulled over for failing to signal while driving over the center line of an interstate highway. Deputies immediately noticed the pungent scent of marijuana. After the county’s drug detection dog, Dundee, sensed a controlled substance, they conducted a probable cause search and found the drugs, estimated to have a $336,000 street value, in boxes.

The Jirons confirmed that they possessed marijuana, which they said "was for Christmas presents," says Lt. Paul Vrbka of the sheriff’s department. In an update to the story, York News-Times reports that Barbara was released after being taken into custody due to medical issues. She has been cited in the case, while husband Patrick was booked on felony charges of possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver and having no drug tax stamp. He has since been release after posting 10% of his $100,000 bond. Vrbka says the couple claims "they didn’t know it was illegal to transport marijuana in Nebraska." (Marijuana activists rolled a 100-pound joint in Massachusetts.)