A California woman who allegedly possessed 4 pounds of methamphetamine during a traffic stop in June 2017 in Freeborn County was charged with a felony July 3.

Martina Salazar, 50, is charged with first-degree meth possession in Freeborn County District Court.

Court documents state Salazar was charged after a Minnesota State trooper on duty at about 2 p.m. June 19, 2017, received information from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension that a red Ford Escape was heading south from the metro area with suspected meth inside. The vehicle was reportedly traveling to Kentucky.

The trooper reportedly saw the vehicle on Interstate 35 north of Albert Lea and initiated a traffic stop.

Court documents state Salazar said she and her daughter flew from California to Minneapolis, rented a car and were driving to Nashville, Tennessee, to see the home of music star Taylor Swift. Salazar said her sister lived in Minnesota and they had stayed at a hotel.

Under the dashboard of the vehicle, the trooper reportedly found three black, tube-shaped packages. Two were found on the driver’s side of the dashboard, with one on the passenger’s side.

Court documents state one of the packages field-tested positive for meth. Salazar reportedly said the meth did not belong to her and “she knew that the rental car was going to be bad.”

She reportedly said she “was going to complain to the rental company,” and “they were just innocent occupants of the rental car.”

Court documents state the meth weighed approximately 4 pounds.

Salazar’s first court appearance is scheduled for July 26.

A mugshot for Salazar was not available at press time.

 

See what happened last night in the PM report here.