Washington Man Charged after Whitefish Amtrak Employee Finds Marijuana

KALISPELL, Mont. (AP) — A Washington state man faces drug charges after he reportedly claimed two bags containing 12 pounds of marijuana from the Amtrak station in Whitefish.

The Daily Inter Lake reports  21-year-old Marquise J. Constantino of Tacoma, Washington, pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony drug possession with intent to distribute.

Charging documents say Constantino called Amtrak to say he had checked his bags but missed a train in Washington. He asked that the bags be held in Whitefish.

Court records say an Amtrak employee notified the Flathead County sheriff's office on June 6 that the luggage contained marijuana. Constantino was arrested in Whitefish the next day after identifying the bags.

Court records say Constantino told authorities the marijuana was bound for a customer in Wisconsin and that he had made about two dozen similar trips over the past two years.