STOCKTON SPRINGS – Patrolling the county with a drug-detecting dog paid off for Waldo County Deputy Sheriff Merl Reed on Friday night as a routine traffic stop led to a marijuana arrest.

Reed said he was patrolling Route 1 at 11:15 p.m. Friday when he stopped a 1988 Volkswagen for doing 67 mph in a 55 mph zone. Reed said that when he approached the car he instructed his dog Neva to circle the vehicle.

“I ran Neva around the vehicle and she indicated drugs at the passenger side door,” Reed said Monday.

Reed said he asked driver Carl Carter, 48, and his passenger Mary Lawrence, 48, both of Sedgwick to step outside and initiated a search. Although nothing was detected on Carter, the dog sniffed what turned out to be a marijuana cigarette in Lawrence’s pocket.

Reed said that when he had Neva search the interior, the dog led him to a marijuana cigarette in the vehicle’s console between the front seats. Reed said that when he removed the marijuana cigarette from the console, his dog continued to indicate the presence of drugs.

“I removed the ash tray and found a hollowed-out compartment with a large plastic bag filled with marijuana buds,” Reed said. “The car had a secret compartment and Neva found it.”

Reed said the marijuana weighed 3.2 ounces. Reed said Lawrence admitted the drugs were hers. She was arrested for furnishing marijuana, booked at the Waldo County Jail and released on $100 cash bail. Carter was not charged.