A Colorado man was arrested early Thursday on U.S. Interstate 80 after he was allegedly found to be transporting psychedelic mushrooms and cannabis.
Jordan Jack Von Rutenberg, 25, of 10 Wagon Wheel Trail, Black Hawk, Colo., was charged with possession of psilocybin mushrooms with intent to deliver/manufacture, failure to affix a drug tax stamp on 10 or more dosage units, first-offense OWI and second-offense possession of marijuana.
The incident began shortly before midnight Wednesday near the 115 mile marker of eastbound U.S. Interstate 80 when an Iowa State Patrol Trooper observed a 2008 Subaru Forester being operated erratically.
According to court records, the trooper turned on the patrol vehicle’s emergency lights in order to initiate a traffic stop and allegedly “observed a plastic baggy be thrown from the driver’s side of the vehicle,” and a few moments later “two white blunts” were also jettisoned.
The trooper allegedly made contact with Von Rutenberg “and could immediately smell the odor of burnt marijuana emanating from the passenger compartment of the vehicle” and “could see the defendant had raw marijuana residue spilled all over his lap and he had
bloodshot, glassy eyes.”
A probable-cause search of Von Rutenberg’s vehicle led to the alleged discovery of “two plastic baggies containing approximately 22 grams of psilocybin mushrooms, a jar containing 5 grams of psilocybin mushroom colonization seeds, a receipt for ordering psilocybin mushrooms online, and a large book that explains how to grow psilocybin mushrooms.”
In addition, “both blunts thrown from the defendant’s vehicle were recovered from the shoulder, containing less than 1 gram of raw marijuana.”
Court records indicated Von Rutenberg “displayed heat bumps and green coloration on the back of his tongue and also had eyelid tremoring when he tilted his head back and closed his eyes, indicators of recent cannabis use.” He “refused to submit to standardized field sobriety testing and admitted to being a marijuana user.”
Von Rutenberg is held in the Dallas County Jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond in advance of a preliminary hearing in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
