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Man Tells Cops 1,300 Xanax Are For 'Chronic Headaches'

By Edward Sieger

PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- When authorities uncovered more than 1,000 Xanax pills hidden in the trunk of a North Carolina man's car, he told police they were for his chronic headaches. Pennsylvania State Police also turned up a "substantial amount" of pot in the search, so Anthony Decontee Fannoh III is now facing drug charges.

State police charged the 27-year-old with a felony count of possession with intent to deliver and misdemeanor counts of marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia after the late-morning stop along Interstate 78 in Lehigh County. He also faces a handful of summary traffic offenses.

State police with the Fogelsville barracks stopped Fannoh's Toyota Corolla just after 11:30 a.m. Monday along I-78 in Weisenberg Township.

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The car's windshield was cracked and the front bumper cover was pulled away and blowing in the wind, police said.

When the trooper initially told Fannoh to pull the car to a safer location, he allegedly smelled marijuana in the vehicle, according to court records. Fannoh, of Greensboro, told the trooper he was headed from New York to North Carolina.

The trooper then asked Fannoh to pull off the highway into a gas station off Exit 45, where he allegedly found a joint in the car along with a large vacuum-sealed plastic bag hidden under the spare tire in the trunk. The trooper allegedly found marijuana in the bag along with two clear bags containing 1,320 Xanax pills.

Fannoh told police he bought the pills for $55 in New York from "some guy" who said the pills would help with his chronic headaches.

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If the pills didn't work, Fannoh was told he could just throw them away, according to court records.

District Judge Anthony Rapp Jr. arraigned Fannoh Monday evening, setting bail at $10,000. He was sent to Lehigh County Jail after failing to post bail.

Fannoh's next court date is a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled for Oct. 10.

The-CNN-Wire ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.

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