Pennsylvania men had 1.4 pounds of cocaine, nearly 2 pounds of pot in SUV, police say

Two Lebanon County men were had 1.4 pounds of suspected cocaine and nearly 2 pounds of suspected marijuana in an Acura MDX that was pulled over for speeding just before 11 a.m. Wednesday on Interstate 78 West in Lower Saucon Township, court papers say.

A Pennsylvania State Police trooper was patrolling the highway in Williams Township when he saw the SUV and followed it, determining it was going 75 mph in a 65 mph zone, court papers say.

After pulling over the vehicle and identifying the driver as Xabdiel Oscar Rodriguez-Taveras, 31, of Lebanon, and the passenger as Alex Manuel Rodriguez-Saldana, 26, of Lebanon, the trooper got consent to search the Acura, police said.

In addition to the cocaine and marijuana — which both field tested positive — 25 grams of suspected lidocaine hydrochloride was also found in the vehicle, police said.

The men were arraigned before District Judge Alicia Rose Zito on charges of conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with the intent to deliver (two felony counts), and possession of a controlled substance (two misdemeanor counts), records show. Both were housed in Northampton County Prison in lieu of $75,000 bail, but Rodriguez-Saldana’s bail was allowed a 10% option by Northampton County PreTrial Services and he was freed on Thursday, records show. Both face preliminary hearings tentatively scheduled 9 a.m. Sept. 9.

Court papers did not indicate attorneys for either man. A phone number for Rodriguez-Saldana wasn’t immediately available.