Santa Barbara County – Robert Dommeyer was in a bit of a hurry in the middle of the afternoon on November 25th as he traveled through the Santa Ynez Valley westbound on Highway 246. What Dommeyer, 32, may have not known is that Highway 246 at that particular location—an undivided highway punctuated by numerous unmarked “T” intersections—has been the scene of numerous fatal collisions in recent years and is currently the subject of intensified patrol and enforcement efforts by both the California Highway Patrol, and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department, with multiple patrol units dispatched out of the nearby Buellton Station.
Robert Dommeyer
Apparently ignorant of an enforcement protocol well known by local area residents and frequent passersby, Dommeyer was driving at excessive speed and was observed doing so by a Sheriff’s Deputy who summarily conducted a routine traffic stop upon him. According to SBSD Public Information Officer Kelly Hoover, the Deputy inquired as to whether or not he might be permitted to search Dommeyer’s car, pursuant to “a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle.”
Clearly a cooperative chap, Dommeyer gave his consent, whereupon additional Deputies arrived to assist in the effort. As reported by Hoover, “Deputies discovered two pounds of marijuana packaged in numerous individual baggies” as well as a plethora of what can only be described as a variety store of cannabis products, including “candy, brownies, and pretzels along with pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes, vapor cigarette refills, concentrated ‘waxes’ and numerous marijuana capsules, along with several thousand dollars in currency.
The confiscated contents of Dommeyer’s car
In his defense, Dommeyer claimed to be in the process of making deliveries under the auspices of a Medical Marijuana Collective, but Deputies—never the type to invest credibility where there may be reasonable doubt—determined that their suspect was not working within the “scope” of the Compassionate Use Act. With that roadside jury verdict in, Dommeyer was arrested and booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of marijuana for sale and transportation of marijuana for sale, with his bail set at an unspecified amount.
Photos: Santa Barbara County Sheriff, Santa Barbara County Jail Booking
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