Pair faces pot charges in Greene County

Deputies: Women had 78 pounds of marijuana in car.

Two outof-state women are being held without bond in Greene County following the seizure of 78 pounds of vacuum-sealed marijuana found in a car stopped for a traffic violation on I-20 earlier this week, authorities say.

The marijuana has an estimated street value between $250,000 and $300,000.

Both suspects appeared before Greene County Chief Magistrate Laverne Ogletree for their first hearing Tuesday since they were arrested the day before on suspicion of violating of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act for trafficking marijuana.

The suspects were identified as Candice Lynn Cannady, 28, of Seattle; and Jocelyn Marie Laymon, 29, of Fayetteville, North Carolina.

The chief magistrate bound the case over to Greene County Superior Court.

The suspects were jailed in the Greene County Detention Center in Greensboro.

It all began with a traffic stop.

Greene County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Matthew Cowdrey said he spotted the driver of a Nissan Altima traveling eastbound and failing to maintain its lane. In his report, the deputy said he watched the passenger side tires of the car cross over the right fog line several times before he turned his blue lights on and attempted to stop the driver.

The driver failed to immediately stop, and after traveling approximately half a mile, Cowdrey said, he turned on his siren.

The car continued traveling along the busy interstate highway without stopping for another estimated half mile. The driver then pulled over.

The occupants of the car were identified by their driver’s licenses.

Cowdrey said Cannady, the passenger in the car, told him that the car was rented. She later presented the deputy with a copy of the rental agreement.

Cowdrey read the agreement, which indicated the car was rented May 1 at 6:15 p.m. in Dallas, Texas, and was to be returned there May 8 by 6:10 p.m.

Laymon, who turned out to be the driver, was asked by the deputy to step out of the car and walk to the rear of it.

“I noticed that the vehicle had a lived-in appearance for a vehicle that had been recently rented,” Cowdrey said.

Laymon reportedly told the deputy that she was trying to connect an auxiliary cord to her phone, which caused the car’s failure to maintain its lane.

Laymon reportedly said she and Cannady had traveled from the Oklahoma area and that they both had visited Texas for the first time. Laymon told the deputy that they were en route to Fayetteville, North Carolina.

“Laymon stated they were there for work and to see friends,” Cowdrey said in his report. “When asked how she got to Oklahoma and Texas, Ms. Laymon responded by saying that her baby lives in Tulsa, Okla., and she got a ride out there.”

Laymon noted that Cannady, meanwhile, “flew in.” The suspect did not elaborate any further.

Cannady was later asked to step out of the car, too.

Cowdrey said he asked Cannady if there were any weapons or drugs in the car. She responded there were none, but when the deputy asked her for consent to search the car, Cannady refused. The deputy said the woman also refused a consent request to deploy his K-9 for an open-air sniff around the car.

Both women were eventually told they were being detained.

Cowdrey then requested that Deputy Sgt. Patrick Paquette assist him on the traffic stop. When Paquette got there, he deployed his dog, Oby.

The K-9 performed an open-air sniff around the car and gave a positive response for the odor of a controlled substance inside the car.

It led to a search of the car, which reportedly yielded two large duffel bags and a trash bag that contained vacuum sealed bags of marijuana in the trunk.

Both suspects were immediately arrested and the marijuana seized by deputies.