Police seize 102 pounds of pot from car trunk
Wednesday, August 19, 2009 at 12:02pm


Metro Police officers working to deter auto burglaries in the Lenox Village complex off Nolensville Pike early Wednesday recovered 102 pounds of marijuana from the trunk of a Chevrolet Impala.

The driver of the car, Cesar Vaca-Vargas, 23, also known as Aurelio Aguilar, is charged with possession of marijuana for resale in a drug free school zone (within 1,000 feet of Oliver Middle School and Shane Elementary School), driving without a license and criminal impersonation, police said.

Officers were monitoring the Lenox Village parking areas when they saw the Impala and another vehicle pull into the gazebo area and then leave. Officer Brent Bauer stopped the Impala at Nolensville Pike and Barnes Road because the temporary tag in the back window was positioned in such a way that it was not readily visible, police said.

Vaca-Vargas, who claimed to be Aurelio Aguilar, did not have a driver's license or any other form of identification and was placed under arrest, police said.

Officers said they smelled a marijuana odor and searched the car. Inside the trunk were four shrink-wrapped packages of marijuana. Police said it is not clear where Vaca-Vargas received the marijuana or where he was taking it.

"This is an excellent example of alert officers intercepting a significant marijuana load while working to address an auto burglary issue," Chief Ronal Serpas said. "And as it turns out, it appears this man should not have even been in Nashville to begin with."

A federal immigration hold has been placed against Vaca-Vargas because he is suspected of re-entering the United States illegally from Mexico after having been deported in the past.

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