Oregon suspects face marijuana trafficking charges

FOLEY, Ala. (WALA) - When the Foley Police Department went into a room at a Foley hotel, they initially thought they had stumbled upon a meth lab. Instead, they found 21 pounds of marijuana in a duffel bag.

Foley Police had originally responded to a call of a disturbance at the room Donald McQueen, Travis Erwing, Austin Pourier and Amanda Cleland, all from Oregon, were in at the America's Best Inn and Suites.

Authorities thought the smell they encountered was a strong, chemical one; they began to evacuate the hotel, thinking they had found a possible meth lab.

Instead, authorities said, someone had used some type of pepper spray into the room.

Through their investigation, using a dangerous chemical monitor, the Foley Fire Department located a duffel bag emitting an organic odor. The FPD said the bag contained 21 pounds of marijuana.

When the officer interviewed they suspects, they said the discovered they had driven from Oregon to Alabama to sell the marijuana. All four suspects were arrested and charged with trafficking marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.