Deferred judgement for Denver man caught with marijuana

Ayub Kouri of Denver has been given a deferred judgement and order of probation on one felony charge of possession of a controlled substance.

On September 7, a Sheriff’s Office deputy was patrolling Highway 585 when he recorded a vehicle traveling at a recorded 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.

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. 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 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; and the smaller container was 3.5 grams in weight. The oil in the vape pen allegedly returned a positive result for THC.

Judge Stuart S. Healy III deferred judgement on a felony count of possession and placed Kouri on probation for a period of 36 months.