Four arrested on drug charges after Santa Rosa traffic stop

Four people were arrested early Thursday on suspicion of drug charges after their car was pulled over in Santa Rosa by CHP officers who noticed the vehicle’s front windows were darkly tinted and that it did not have a rear license plate.

The officers stopped the Dodge Charger at 1:50 a.m. as it left Highway 101 at Mendocino Avenue, the CHP said.

As officers approached the car, they smelled marijuana smoke coming from the vehicle, the CHP said.

The driver, Erin Norton, 41, of Aptos, handed an officer a small container of marijuana, according to officers. Norton has had her driver’s license suspended since 2006 and has convictions for driving under the influence, the patrol said.

Officers searched the vehicle and found several bags of drugs and cash that the occupants claimed were their property, officers said. It included more than $17,000 in cash, 26 eyedrop tubes containing liquid LSD, a jar containing more than 220 grams of LSD, seven containers of concentrated cannabis pills, two small containers of cocaine, and several pounds of concentrated marijuana packaged for sale and drug paraphernalia, the CHP said.

Norton was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, driving while suspended, possession of cocaine, marijuana for sale and transportation of drugs for sale, the CHP said.

Richard Southward, 47, of Guerneville; Jessica Maxwell, 20, of Jenner; and John Fox, 35, of Monte Rio, all were arrested on suspicion of possessing LSD, cocaine and marijuana and transportation for sale of all three drugs, the CHP said. Fox faces an additional charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.