California man indicted for cocaine on turnpike

9/4/2009

A Riverside, Calif., man, who Ohio Highway Patrol troopers said was carrying about 12 pounds of cocaine in his vehicle, will be arraigned Wednesday in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.

Eriberto Zamora, 19, was indicted this week on felony charges of possession of cocaine, trafficking in cocaine, and possessing criminal tools. Both drug charges carry specifications that the suspect is a major drug offender. If convicted, he faces up to 21 years in prison.

According to the Ohio Highway Patrol, Mr. Zamora was stopped Aug. 25 by troopers on the Ohio Turnpike just west of the Airport Highway exit for a marked-lane violation. He was driving a pickup with Illinois license plates. A drug-sniffing dog alerted troopers to the cocaine. Mr. Zamora is in the Lucas County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond. The case has been assigned to Judge Denise Ann Dartt.