Route 80 Stop: Hotel Manager From Virginia Busted With $125,000 Worth Of Pot, Prosecutor Says

The operations manager of a Virginia hotel was charged with first-degree drug possession after Bergen County prosecutor’s detectives said they caught him with 50 pounds of pot during a Route 80 traffic stop.

Ryan Barnes
Photo Credit: *BERGEN COUNTY PROSECUTOR*

Jerry DeMarco

12/02/2020 1:19 p.m.

Ryan Barnes, 45, who was traveling alone, had “inconsistencies in his story” after Narcotics Task Force investigators stopped his vehicle on the westbound highway in Bogota on Tuesday, Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Mark Musella said.

A Bergen County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit responded and positively indicated the presence of drugs, which Musella said was found in suitcases in the trunk along with $6,800 in cash.

Barnes, of Henrico, VA, remained held Wednesday in the Bergen County Jail pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing in Hackensack.

He's charged with a single charge of possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, which Musella said had a street value of $125,000.

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