California man suspected of moving 8 pounds of marijuana

A California man appeared Thursday in Justice Court on numerous charges including three drug counts.

Troy Wayne Coonrod, 51, of Redding faces one count of failure to appear and three felony charges of offer, attempt or commission of an unauthorized act relating to a controlled substance, possession of a schedule I or II controlled substance and one count of being under the influence of a controlled substance.

He is suspected of transporting more than 8 pounds of marijuana.

Coonrad was arrested April 10 after he bailed out the Churchill County Jail on $20,000 bond. He is currently being held on a $15,000 cash-only bond.

According to court records, Coonrod was in Redding but failed to appear. He said he believed the public defender would appear on his behalf, which would allow for him to not be present.

According to court records, Coonrod was arrested Dec. 8, 2012, by the Churchill County Sheriff’s Office on the Reno Highway near the Leetville Junction.

Deputies saw Coonrod’s grey Ford pickup truck parked on the north shoulder of the road with Coonrod and Everett Rhodes in the vehicle. The two men were slumped over and when contacted by law enforcement, the deputies noticed an odor of marijuana coming from the truck.

Coonrod told authorities he had marijuana in his possession and gave authorities a bag containing about one-half pound, according to court records. After exiting the vehicle, however, one of the men dropped a glass pipe with residue. Tests confirmed the presence of the methamphetamine and called the K-9 unit to search the truck.

The search yielded a stash of 8.25 pounds of marijuana located in a case and cooler in the Coonrod’s truck.

He is scheduled for a status hearing on Thursday.

In other court news —

Stephen Charles Cheek, 31, of Fallon appeared Thursday on weapons charges.

He faces eight felony counts of grand larceny of a firearm and one charge of burglary with possession of a firearm or deadly weapon. He is scheduled for a status hearing on May 2.

According to court records, Cheek broke into David Barkley’s home Nov. 30, 2012, and stole a Weatherby .30-caliber rifle, an AR-15 rifle, a Remington 30-06, a Marlin 30-30, two Winchester shotguns, a Berko .380 pistol and a .22-caliber rifle.

He was arrested April 11 by Churchill County Sheriff’s deputies and is out on $5,000 bond.