Ohio County Magistrate Patty Murphy arraigned Barry Stadler, a 59-year-old white male from Michigan and charged him with possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver 428 pounds. Ohio County Sheriff Tom Howard said the 10 boxes and six bags of marijuana have a street value of approximately $1.3 million.
Stadler was pulled over in a white van by deputies Major Rod Vaught and Cpl. Nate Dober near the seven-mile marker on Interstate 70 eastbound. The deputies observed Stadler speeding and then initiated the traffic stop once he cut off another driver.
Murphy placed Stadler on a $100,000 cash bond and remanded him to the Northern Regional Jail. Magistrate Janine Varner was assigned the case.
“Not only is this the largest marijuana bust in my career, this is the largest in the history of the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office, ever,” Howard reported. “This is just proof that on a daily basis that we have a lot of bad stuff flowing this county on a daily basis, but it also a prime example why I am so big on enforcing the traffic laws along I-70.
“We do a lot of traffic stops on Interstate 470 and I-70 on a daily basis. People may not realize it, but our deputies spend a lot of time on the interstates enforcing speed limits, especially since the I-70 project started nearly three years ago,” he continued. “This bust took place because of speeding, and our guys did an awesome job. This is why our guys will continue running traffic every day.”
