Feds Charge California Woman With Possessing 12 Pounds of Meth

A California woman has been charged with one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine after a traffic stop in Johnson County in April, according to a criminal complaint filed in federal court on Wednesday.

Court documents did not indicate why four months elapsed from the time of the arrest to filing the charge.

The case started on April 2 when a Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper had received traffic complaints about a silver or gray sport utility vehicle with a Kansas license plate traveling on Interstate 90 near Gillette, according to the affidavit accompanying the complaint written by an agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The trooper saw a vehicle matching that description parked on the north shoulder of the westbound lane of I-90.

The driver was identified as Bianca Samantha Ortega, and the Nissan Armada was rented from Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Las Vegas.

After talking with Ortega about her travel plans, the trooper asked if she could search the vehicle.

Ortega agreed.

The search yielded 12 pounds of methamphetamine.

Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine is punishable by 10 years to life imprisonment.

The federal government intends to seek to detain Ortega, according to the docket.

Casper attorney Don Fuller will represent her, according to the docket.