NORMAN — Cleveland County District Judge Tom Lucas sentenced a man Wednesday who pleaded guilty to possession of 18 pounds of marijuana with intent to distribute.
Lemont Donnell Maytubby, 44, of St. Louis, was sentenced to six years in prison and 14 years probation Wednesday afternoon in Cleveland County District Court.
Maytubby was previously convicted for suspicion of conspiracy to traffic marijuana in 2002 and served a 2.5 year sentence with three years probation.
Maytubby was arrested in Cleveland County in February 2012 after being pulled over by Oklahoma Highway Patrol during a routine traffic stop.
Maytubby was traveling northbound on Interstate 35 near West Robinson Street when Trooper Joe Kimmons pulled Maytubby over after he observed Maytubby weave twice over the lane line that separates the middle and inside lanes.
Kimmons was intending to issue the driver a warning, but while the trooper was talking to Maytubby, Kimmons said he suspected “possible criminal activity” inside of Maytubby’s vehicle after checking his criminal history, according to the affidavit.
During the stop, Maytubby told the trooper he had been traveling from Austin, Texas, to St. Louis. Kimmons found it “odd” that Maytubby was wearing an “extremely wrinkled” suit for the long drive, the affidavit stated.
The affidavit also stated that when Kimmons asked Maytubby what he did for a living, Maytubby said he worked in construction. In court on Wednesday, Maytubby told Judge Lucas he owned his own business and was a heating and cooling electrician.
Also during the traffic stop, Kimmons found it odd that Maytubby would drive so far to see a friend whom he reportedly hadn’t seen or spoken to in about 12 years and who had also died that morning, the affidavit stated.
“The entire traffic stop, Mr. Maytubby would not make eye contact with me. Due to my training and experience in dealing with criminal activity and the above indicators, I felt there may be possible criminal activity inside the car,” the trooper stated in the affidavit.
At that point, Norman Police Det. Darin Morgan arrived at the scene and ran his police dog, Lux, around the car and the dog “alerted to the rear of the car,” the affidavit stated.
Maytubby did not initially consent to the search of his vehicle. After Kimmons told him he would be doing a probable cause search, Maytubby admitted that there was marijuana in the back of the car, according to the affidavit.
Law enforcement found about 18 pounds of marijuana in the rear of the vehicle under the back seats in a black duffle bag. The marijuana was individually wrapped, each in one-pound packages.
In court Wednesday, Maytubby told Judge Lucas “it was a one-time deal” and that he was trying to raise money for his family and resorted back to his old ways because they needed money.
When Lucas asked Maytubby why he needed the money, Maytubby said the family car had caught on fire.
At the time of Maytubby’s arrest in February 2012, he was driving a silver Dodge SUV, according to the affidavit. It was not clear during court proceedings Wednesday whether or not that vehicle was registered to Maytubby.
Jessica Bruha
366-3540
jbruha@normantranscript.com
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