GARDNERVILLE - Two teenagers were arrested on drug charges Monday after deputies found marijuana, methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in a search of their vehicle one mile south of Leviathan Mine Road.
Gerald Tapia, 18, of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., and Jason Russell Markman, 18, of Reno were in Douglas County Jail on $5,500 bail each.
They were passengers in a Jeep driven by a 54-year-old Mammoth Lakes man who said he didn't know them well, but was taking the two and another Mammoth teenager back to California from Reno at the request of family members.
When the teenagers couldn't come up with identification, the deputy asked for permission to search the vehicle. He found .5 grams of what the suspects said was crystal methamphetamine and 3 ounces of marijuana, a glass pipe and a scale and tray.
Tapia and Markman were charged with possession of a controlled substance. In addition, Tapia said he was a member of a Los Angeles gang. Deputies found gang clothing in the vehicle.
