FROM STAFF REPORTS

Two suspects face felony drug trafficking charges after members of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Interstate Criminal Enforcement Team seized more than 160 pounds of marijuana, four firearms and marijuana on Monday.

Deputies assigned to the ICE Team stopped a GMC Yukon pulling a U-Haul utility trailer on Interstate 77 South at the 63 mile marker for a traffic violation on Monday, Sheriff Darren Campbell said in a news release.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Brett Vincent Thompson, 42, of Winter Springs, Fla., and the passenger as Michelle Kaye Green, 50, of Altamonte Springs, Fla.

While speaking to Thompson and Green, the deputies noted discrepancies in their stories and observed other indicators of criminal activity, Campbell said.

Thompson indicated that there was a small amount of marijuana for personal use inside the vehicle, according to the news release.

During a searc of the vehicle and the U-Haul trailer, deputies located and seized more than 162 pounds of marijuana, THC waxes and oils in totes and garbage bags, along with two handguns, two shotguns, and thousands of rounds of ammunition, the sheriff said.

Deputies learned Thompson had been convicted of felony assault on a law enforcement officer in Florida, which prevented him from possessing firearms.

Thompson and Green were transported to the Iredell County Detention Center, where they were charged with two counts of Felony Trafficking Marijuana, Felony Possession with Intent to Manufacture, Sell, or Deliver a Controlled Substance, Felony Manufacture a Controlled Substance, Felony Conspiracy to Traffic Narcotics, and Felony Maintaining a Vehicle for a Controlled Substance. Thompson was also charged with Felony Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.

Both appeared before Magistrate Chambers, who issued a $300,00 secured bond on the charges.