From: LehighValleyLive.com
By Sarah Cassi
A New York man accused of trying to smuggle cigarettes from Virginia after being stopped on Interstate 78 in Lehigh County pleaded guilty in the case today.
Joseph Merced Lopez, 64, of Howard Beach, N.Y., pleaded guilty today to possession of unstamped cigarettes, a misdemeanor. He faced a felony count of the same charge, but that was dropped as part of the plea deal.
Lopez was sentenced to one year of probation by Judge Maria Dantos, Assistant District Attorney Robert Schopf said.
Lopez was stopped June 2 by Pennsylvania State Police while driving on I-78 in Salisbury Township.
Troopers said they spotted Lopez speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, and when they stopped him they found 530 cartons of out-of-state cigarettes in the trunk of a 2004 Ford Crown Victoria. The contained 106,000 cigarettes and had Virginia tax stamps, but none from Pennsylvania, records say. Lopez spent a night in jail before being released on $20,000 bail.
