Turlock man arrested after Texas traffic stop yields marijuana in gift-wrapped boxes

A Turlock man faces drug-possession charges after a trooper searched his vehicle in northwestern Texas and found $120,000 worth of marijuana, including some neatly wrapped in holiday gift boxes, authorities said.

The Texas Department of Public Safety said Friday that a trooper stopped a pickup truck Wednesday night near Conway, about 25 miles northeast of Amarillo, and found more than 20 pounds of pot in the gift boxes and hidden in a spare tire.

The trooper arrested the driver, 50-year-old Frank Coronado of Turlock. The department suspects Coronado was trafficking drugs from California to Oklahoma City and charged him with felony possession of marijuana.

Coronado was freed Thursday on $10,000 bond.

Jail records didn’t list an attorney speaking on his behalf.

This story was originally published December 4, 2015 at 1:07 PM with the headline "Turlock man arrested after Texas traffic stop yields marijuana in gift-wrapped boxes."