Hollister Police arrested a motorist with a car full of illegal controlled substances after an officer smelled marijuana during a traffic stop, according to authorities.
About 4:25pm March 28, a Hollister Police officer pulled over a vehicle at the intersection of Hillcrest Road and Pinnacles National Park Highway, police said in a press release. The officer observed “several vehicle code violations” before initiating the traffic stop.
During the stop, the officer contacted the driver, Jorel Castillo, police said. While speaking with Castillo, the officer detected a strong odor of cannabis coming from inside the vehicle.
Castillo initially denied having a substantial amount of marijuana in the vehicle, police said. However, after continued contact with the officer the driver admitted there was a large quantity of cannabis in the vehicle.
The officer then searched Castillo’s vehicle and found large amounts of cannabis, psilocybin mushrooms, THC oil, THC crystals, vape pens, packaging containers, scales and various denominations of cash, police said.
Castillo was arrested on suspicion of multiple offenses, including possession of controlled substances for sale, possession of more than one ounce of marijuana, transporting or selling narcotics or controlled substances, and selling, distributing or possessing synthetic cannabis for sale, police said.
Scam alert
The Hollister Police Department warned the public in a March 24 social media post that a suspect or suspects has been attempting to scam people by pretending to be a city law enforcement officer.
The department said it has received several calls from residents advising they had been called by someone claiming to be from Hollister PD and demanding money. The caller ID on the calls is listed as the local department’s business line, but authorities assured it is a scam and “there are ways to manipulate the caller ID to list any number.”
“The Hollister Police Department will NEVER call anyone and demand money,” the department’s posting said. “Please be aware this is a scam and do not interact with anyone who is demanding money.”
