Man caught with 800 pounds of pot, disguised as stir fry sauce, pleads guilty in Greene Co.

A man pleaded guilty to a felony charge Tuesday after he was caught driving 800 pounds of marijuana through Greene County last year.

With the help of a Russian interpreter, Ashot Grigoryan, 58, pleaded guilty to drug possession with intent to distribute after authorities found the marijuana in the back of his 32-foot refrigerated truck during a traffic stop on Interstate 44 in January 2015.

Grigoryan was sentenced to 7 years in prison, but he could be out in 120 days.

Grigoryan agreed to a 120-day shock incarceration program. After he completes those 120 days in prison, a judge will decide whether to release Grigoryan on 5 years probation.

As part of the plea agreement, Grigoryan was ordered to pay a $4,000 fine, which is the amount of money he was paid to transport the marijuana from California to New York, according to Greene County Assistant Prosecutor Zachary McFarland.

According to a probable cause statement, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper stopped Grigoryan's truck on Jan. 29, 2015 for a compliance inspection on I-44 near the 744 interchange.

The paperwork associated with the vehicle indicated that Grigoryan was transporting 36 packages of stir fry sauce from Glendale, California, to Brooklyn, New York, according to the statement.

Grigoryan gave authorities consent to search the truck and they found 36 cardboard boxes and five large nylon bags that were full of heat-sealed bundles of marijuana, according to the statement. The marijuana and boxes weighed about 800 pounds, the statement says.

The trailer of the truck was secured with a padlock, and Grigoryan told authorities he was not given a key to it. A key to the padlock was later found on the key ring of the truck, according to the statement.

Grigoryan's local attorney, Dean Price, explained that Grigoryan entered a modified Alford plea.

In an Alford plea, the defendant acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence for a conviction but does not admit that he or she committed the crime.

Price said Grigoryan did not know there was marijuana in the back of his truck, but he did know he was likely hauling something illegal.

"He did acknowledge that due to the circumstances of how he was hired and the payment and how it was made, he knew that he was going to be hauling contraband," Price said. "He had no clue what it was."

Grigoryan was initially charged with drug trafficking, a Class A felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison. As part of the plea agreement with prosecutors, however, the charge was dropped to the Class B offense of drug possession with intent to distribute.