SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Prosecutors say a man was charged with drug trafficking after he drove 800 pounds of marijuana through Springfield on his way from California to New York.
Prosecutor Kevin Young said 56-year-old Ashot Grigoryan was charged Wednesday.
A probable cause statement said a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper who stopped Grigoryan's 32-foot refrigerated truck earlier this year on Interstate 44 found 36 cardboard boxes and five nylon bags full of bundles of marijuana. His paperwork said Grigoryan was transporting stir-fry sauce.
The Springfield News-Leader reported that charges were delayed because authorities thought the case would be tried in federal court but federal prosecutors deferred to state officials.
Grigoryan's bail was set at $10,000 with an agreement to reduce it to $2,500 if he appears in court.