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247 Pounds Of Marijuana Found On Man Trying To Lay Low In Empty Hercules Golf Course Parking Lot

HERCULES (CBS SF) -- A man found sleeping inside a van in an empty parking lot at a Hercules golf course has been arrested after police also found 247 pounds of marijuana inside the vehicle.

Hercules Police said an officer was doing a routine security check at Franklin Canyon Golf Course just after 2 a.m. Tuesday, and came across a rental van parked in an otherwise empty parking lot.

The officer found a man sleeping inside and knocked on the window to check on his welfare, but there was no response, police said.

The officer then tried the door, found it unlocked, and opened it. The man woke up and told the officer he was from Las Vegas and was just sleeping, police said.

suspect
Richard Arthur Vanhorn (Hercules Police Dept.)

A check of the van revealed a glass pipe and 11 garbage bags. Inside the bags was packaged marijuana weighing about 22.5 pounds, for a total weight of about 247 pounds.

The estimated street value of the marijuana is over $700,000 according to police.

The man inside the van was identified as 41-year-old Richard Arthur Vanhorn. He was arrested and taken to the Martinez Detention Facility.

He faces charges of transportation and possession of marijuana for sale.

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