MANDEVILLE, La. — Authorities say they seized a gun and more than 10 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop early Saturday in Mandeville.
The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office says deputies stopped a pickup truck around 1:30 a.m. Saturday on Highway 1088 and Viola Street after seeing a traffic violation.
The sheriff's office said 35-year-old Martin Alameda Pineda did not have a valid driver's license and said he was driving from Houston to Baton Rouge. Mandeville is located about 75 miles east of Baton Rouge.
"Pineda claimed to be on his way to his hotel after disseminating business cards for his construction business, but deputies found this to be odd since it was 1:30 in the morning and there we no hotels in the area," the STPSO said.
Deputies searched Pineda's truck and found 10.8 pounds of suspected meth in bags on the floorboard of the backseat and a 9-millimeter pistol under the center console.
Pineda was booked into the St. Tammany Parish Jil on the following charges: tail lamps required, improper lane use, no driver's license, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, illegal carrying of weapons while in presence of a controlled dangerous substance.
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