Denver man faces felony drug charges

A Denver man faces felony drug charges after a pound of marijuana was found in his vehicle during a traffic stop on Highway 585.

On September 7, a Sheriff’s Office deputy was patrolling Highway 585 near mile marker 12 when he observed a white passenger car traveling above the posted 70 mph speed limit. The deputy’s radar allegedly recorded an initial reading of 98 mph.

The deputy initiated a traffic stop and approached the vehicle. According to court reports, he noticed that three of the vehicle’s windows were open and the vehicle was occupied by two males.

The driver, Ayub Kouri, provided a rental contract. Both men allegedly stated they were going to Spearfish to watch a friend play football at Black Hills State University.

While conducting a standard check with Dispatch with Kouri sat in the front seat of his patrol vehicle, the deputy allegedly noticed the odor of marijuana and “another scent” that may have been either air freshener or cologne.

Kouri allegedly denied there being any illegal substances in his vehicle, but then paused and said there was around an ounce of marijuana in the back seat and claimed it belonged to him. The passenger was removed from the vehicle and the deputy reports opening a backpack on the rear seat to find three black plastic containers “commonly from a marijuana dispensary”.

The passenger allegedly confirmed that this marijuana was his and said it weighed one ounce. The deputy continued his search of the back seat and allegedly located two paper sacks with receipts indicating the sale of marijuana earlier that day in Colorado.

According to court reports, the deputy observed air freshener trees in the driver side door and aerosols in the center console, as well as three cell phones within the vehicle. After retrieving the key fob from Kouri, the deputy opened the trunk, which appeared empty.

The deputy raised the black floor covering and observed a black bag, which allegedly contained a large plastic bag of green buds that appeared to be marijuana. According to the deputy’s affidavit, secondary search of the vehicle revealed more dispensary containers of marijuana, a substance “consistent with THC wax” and a vape pen containing a thick liquid.

The items were weighed at the Sheriff’s Office. The bag of marijuana allegedly weighed 15.8 ounces; each of the three dispensary containers contained around an ounce of marijuana each; and the smaller container showed 3.5 grams in weight. The oil in the vape pen allegedly returned a positive result for THC.

Kouri faces felony charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession with intent to deliver, as well as a misdemeanor count of possession of a controlled substance.