3 charged with drug possession after railroad tanker car found filled with marijuana in LA

[Lucinda F. Boyd]

LOS ANGELES

Three men whose arrests led to the discovery of hundreds of pounds of marijuana in a railroad tanker car have been charged with drug possession in Los Angeles.

The district attorney's office says 28-year-old Jesse Lopez, 18-year-old Justin Coffey and 19-year-old Kristopher Maldonado were each charged Tuesday with two felony counts.

The three were arrested late Sunday following a short pursuit that led to a rail yard in Commerce.

Officers said they noticed an oily substance on the suspects' clothing and found bundles of marijuana coated with oil in the car.

Authorities say further investigation led officers to the rail car that entered the U.S. from Mexico this month. In all, 78 bundles of marijuana, each weighing about 20 pounds, were removed from the tanker..