Police display what they confiscated
TEHACHAPI — A routine traffic stop in the small Kern County mountain community of Tehachapi early Saturday morning was a big surprise for the cop who initiated it.
It all started at around 1 a.m. on January 9, after a car driven by 24-year-old Tyler Thorton of Mojave, was pulled over by a Tehachapi Police officer near the intersection of Tucker Road and Tehachapi Boulevard for a expired registration.
“When the officer approached the driver, he immediately smelled the odor of marijuana coming from inside the vehicle,” Tehachapi Police Chief Kent Kroeger said. “The officer immediately called for additional officers and they began working together to conduct and investigation and search of the vehicle.”
Kroeger said that during their search, officers quickly discovered six-pounds of marijuana, along with an unregistered gun, several knives and a digital scale indicative to the sale of illegal drugs, located inside the vehicle.
Officers confiscated the marijuana and other items, and arrested Thorton, who was booked into the Kern County Jail on various weapons and illegal narcotics charges. He has since made bail.
Police said Thornton was traveling from Sacramento and heading home to Mojave, but stopped in Tehachapi to get gas.
That eventually proved to be a costly mistake on his part, but lucky for law enforcement.
