Traffic stop leads to 2 pot gardens

WILLOW — A traffic stop on the Parks Highway near Nancy Lake led Alaska State Troopers to a pair of marijuana grows in Anchorage and Talkeetna.

According to a press statement, at 12:19 p.m. Thursday, troopers pulled over a Dodge pickup at Mile 65, Parks Highway for a moving violation.

Troopers identified the driver as Adrienne Schenfele, 43, of Anchorage, and say there was 11 ounces of marijuana in the pickup, all divided up and “packaged for distribution.” The pickup also allegedly contained hashish oil.

Investigators with the Mat-Su Drug Unit were called in to help and obtained warrants to search two homes Schenfele owned, one in Talkeetna and the other in Anchorage.

The warrants were served at 4:30 p.m. that day, turning up 36 plants in Anchorage and $20,000 worth of growing equipment. Troopers say that house also contained a half-gallon of hashish oil.

In Talkeetna, they found 41 plants. Schenfele was jailed at the Mat-Su Pre-Trial Facility on drug misconduct charges with bail set at $2,500. Court records as of Saturday afternoon showed Schenfele had made bail and been released.