A pair of men were arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning after a Casper police officer stopped their vehicle and allegedly found a substantial amount of marijuana, a small amount of methamphetamine and a semiautomatic handgun.

Jeremy A. Peters, 18, of Minatare, Nebraska, and 19-year-old Ayden C. Brown of Bar Nunn, were each booked into jail on recommended felony charges of methamphetamine possession, marijuana possession and possession with intent to deliver. They will likely make their initial appearances in Natrona County Circuit Court at 2 p.m. Monday.

Charging documents state a Casper police officer was on patrol in the area of Beech and First Streets shortly after 3 a.m. Saturday when she saw a passenger vehicle with Nebraska registration. The officer stopped the vehicle for a number of traffic violations, including having a windshield that was "cracked substantially."

As the officer spoke with Brown and Peters, who were the only people inside the vehicle, she smelled marijuana. Brown and Peters denied smelling any marijuana, but the officer noted that both of them were very nervous and were shaking.

The officer pulled both men out of the vehicle and conducted a search. That search allegedly turned up multiple containers with marijuana or marijuana residue inside, a white backpack with a safe inside which smelled strongly of marijuana, a Walther P22 .22-caliber handgun beneath the front passenger seat and ammunition.

Both Brown and Peters allegedly denied ownership of the white backpack. They also denied knowing the code to the safe, but they agreed that the officer could break it open to search it.

Peters ended up admitting that he knew the gun was in the vehicle and had transported it from Scottsbluff, Nebraska to Casper. He said that a friend had stolen the gun from the friend's father and left it in the vehicle. Peters showed the officer text messages in which Peters had been trying to sell the gun to Brown for $100.

Upon breaking open the safe, officers found multiple bags of marijuana, a small bag containing a small amount of methamphetamine, multiple empty bags both small and large, a scale with marijuana residue, a blue grinder with marijuana residue and a broken marijuana wax pipe.

The officer was told that Brown had two prior convictions for drug possession, and had been on probation twice for the crime. Peters also had two prior convictions for drug possession, having pleaded guilty in the most recent case in Casper on Friday, less than 24 hours before his arrest early Saturday morning.

A booking photo of Peters was not available from the Casper Police Department on Monday morning.

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