Lake Sheriffs snag another drug offender

Highway 20 in Upper Lake, where many a drug trafficker has been caught passing through.

Law enforcement agencies are sometimes known to set up “Speed Traps” – a place where they can simply wait and drivers traveling at unsafe speeds will simply come to them to be cited. It is much easier and more efficient than going out and hunting them down. However, in California, speed traps are a violation of the vehicle code and should not be used. However, Lake County Sheriff’s Narcotics Task Force and patrol deputies seem to have found Highway 20 around Clear Lake to be just about as effective in catching drug traffickers. The Sheriff’s office releases almost daily reports of traffic stops resulting in marijuana and other drug arrests, and have reported over 30 arrests for narcotics and marijuana related charges in November to date.

Jasmine Leigh Schrade

The latest story happened Monday night, November 18, when narcotics detectives cruising down Highway 20 around 10 pm spotted a suspicious Ford pickup, also traveling westbound. They ran the license plates through Central Dispatch, and found that the registration had expired and been suspended since July. They pulled the vehicle over at the 100 block of the highway in Upper Lake.

6 plastic bins were in Schrade’s pickup truck.

When asked for her drivers license, 31-year-old Jasmine Leigh Schrade explained she didn’t have one, as it had been suspended for a previous DUI. According to Steve Brooks, Public Information Officer for the Lake Sheriff, Ms. Schrade also shared that she was on probation for a previous conviction of possession of a controlled substance. Records show that she had been arrested in April of 2012 for drug charges, possession with a prescription.

The bins contained almost 24 lbs. of processed marijuana

It didn’t take long for the detectives to detect the all-too-familiar smell of marijuana coming from the truck, while they noted the presence of several large plastic storage containers in the truck bed, covered by a plastic tarp. They asked Ms. Schrade if she had a medical recommendation to possess marijuana, and she said she did, but it was expired. (Perhaps she was a member of the D & M Compassion Center collective – see story.) They asked her how much marijuana she had with her now, but she clammed up and refused to share any more. A search of the plastic bins, however, revealed they were chock full of the weed, which turned out to be nearly 24 pounds.

Jasmine Schrade’s Facebook profile photo. According to her profile, she studied at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Academy in San Francisco.

Since even the heartiest of users could not possibly need more than a few ounces a day personally, she was arrested and booked for possession of marijuana for sale, along with her parole violation and unlicensed driving.

In addition to these serendipitous traffic violations that result in drug trafficking arrests, the Lake County Narcotics Task Force encourages anyone with information that may help in their efforts to eradicate narcotics from Lake County to call their anonymous tip line at 707-263-3663.

Read More:

Lake County News: Upper Lake woman arrested for marijuana, probation violation