Man pleads guilty to pot-related charge

A 27-year-old Libby man has pleaded not guilty to drug charges after Montana Highway Patrol reportedly found more than 120 grams of marijuana in his car.

Adrian David Oropeza, of Libby, on Monday in district court pleaded not guilty to criminal possession of dangerous drugs. If convicted, he faces a maximum five-year prison sentence and a possible $50,000 fine.

Oropeza was charged in May after a traffic stop. During the stop, a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper allegedly found drugs in his car. Trooper Anthony Jenson reported stopping Oropeza when he allegedly clocked his vehicle driving 63 mph in a 55-mph zone.

During the traffic stop, Jenson reported he could allegedly smell a strong marijuana odor coming from Oropeza’s car. Oropeza allegedly told Jenson that he had a medical marijuana card and had smoked marijuana that day, but not within the last 12 hours. At Jenson’s request, Oropeza produced a jar containing 2.5 grams of marijuana, according to court documents. According to his report, Jenson then saw a box in the back seat with green stems sticking out from the box. Oropeza gave that box to Jenson as well, according to Jenson’s report.

Jenson reported that Oropeza’s medical marijuana card had actually expired in February in 2015, although Oropeza told him that he had renewed his card since then. Jenson took the box and told Oropeza he would contact him again after he weighed the boxed marijuana at the Montana Highway Patrol facility.

After allowing the plants to dry, Jenson reported the marijuana in the box weighed approximately 123 grams.

No information on a trial date was available.