Xanax, marijuana get brothers arrested after I-90 traffic stop

Two New York brothers were arrested Thursday on drug-related charges after a traffic stop on Interstate 90 near Mitchell.

Trooper John Lord with the South Dakota Highway Patrol said he stopped a Volkswagen Golf automobile around 1:15 p.m. for speeding and failure to signal a lane change.

Lord said the driver and passenger were both nervous at the stop near the Betts Road exit.

“I asked the driver questions about previous drug history and he admitted to using drugs in the past,” Lord said.

Lord’s service dog, Aros, sniffed out the drugs and paraphernalia, which included six pills of alprazolam (generic Xanax), a small amount of marijuana and a marijuana pipe.

The passenger, Christopher Sartain, 20, of Pittsford, N.Y., was arrested for possession of a controlled substance (the pills), possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

The driver, Matthew Sartain, 20, also of Pittsford, N.Y., was arrested for distribution of a controlled substance — he gave his brother the alprazolam — and for possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.

Lord said both men are being held in the Davison County Jail.

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