By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – He said it wasn’t his and even though it was discovered inside his vehicle after impound, troopers were unable to make a clear enough connection to arrest the 24-year-old Tacoma man for possession of marijuana.
So they didn’t.
Zequane J. King was stopped early last week in Lewis County and was found to be driving with a suspended license, so he was booked into the Lewis County Jail, according to the Washington State Patrol. Trooper Will Finn said a subsequent search of the vehicle turned up roughly one and a half ounces of marijuana.
[1]King was adamant it didn’t belong to him, according to Finn.
Under the new law, it’s lawful for a person 21 or older to have up to one ounce.
Since troopers couldn’t establish ownership, the marijuana was put into safekeeping, the same way the state patrol would for a purse or other valuables from any impounded car, according to Finn.
Yesterday however, King arranged to meet up with the state patrol evidence custodian at the office in Chehalis, to retrieve his property, Finn said.
“He explained to the custodian he was calling to make arrangements to get possession of his marijuana that had been placed into safe keeping,” Finn said in a news release.
Once King signed paperwork stating the marijuana was his and took possession of it, he was arrested once again, this time for possessing a felony amount of marijuana, Finn said.
He was booked into the Lewis County Jail.
This time, the marijuana was placed in to the state patrol’s evidence system as evidence, according to Finn.