CR man facing drug charges after passing trooper on I380
Hunter
4/12/19
Passing a trooper on the interstate? Not a good idea. Passing a trooper on the interstate with a car full of drugs? Even worse.
Two Cedar Rapids men learned that lesson early Friday.
Arrest records indicate that just after midnight, a state trooper was traveling northbound on Interstate 380 at about the 5 mile marker at about 70 miles per hour, when he was passed by a vehicle driven by 24 year old John Byard. He was clocked at 79 miles per hour and the trooper noticed his license lamp was not functioning.
During the ensuing stop, Byard and his passenger, 25 year-old Derek Smorstad, were read Miranda rights and both admitted that there were drugs in a backpack on the passenger floor.
A probable cause search of the passenger compartment and the backpack found about 86 grams of marijuana in various containers, a glass bong, 3 glass pipes and a vape pen loaded with THC wax.
Smorstad, who allegedly admitted that all the drugs and assorted paraphernalia was his, was taken into custody and charged with one count of possession and failure to affix a drug stamp, which are punishable by a prison sentence of over five years if convicted.