Routine stop in Lincoln nets 5 pounds of pot

LINCOLN – A police officer making a routine traffic stop on Frost Street late Wednesday came upon 5 pounds of marijuana worth as much as $9,500 on the street, police said Sunday.

Officer Nelson Grant was on patrol at about 10:45 p.m. when he saw a 2001 Toyota pickup truck with its license plate light out.

He pulled the vehicle over and while talking to the driver smelled what seemed to be the odor of marijuana smoke, police said.

That gave him legal right to search the vehicle, and he found the drugs in a duffel bag in the truck’s extended cab, police said. A search of the driver also revealed almost $2,000 in cash.

Steven Williams, 55, of Lee Road in Lincoln was charged with aggravated trafficking of scheduled drugs, a Class B felony. He was held on bail before being released from Penobscot County Jail in Bangor, police said.

He is due in Superior Court in Bangor on Jan. 12, police said.

Subsequent to the search of the vehicle, police got a search warrant for Williams’ house and, with help from the state police and Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, conducted the search the following day, police said.

The search revealed more remnants of marijuana and some packaging materials, police said.

The police investigation is continuing. More charges are expected, police said.