Feb. 23—A woman was sentenced Tuesday for her role in the trafficking of nearly 100 pounds of marijuana from an illegal grow in Yale, Oklahoma, to Little Rock, Arkansas.

Ming Yu Zhao, 51, pleaded guilty to three felony charges and was sentenced to serve 10 years in the custody of the Department of Corrections with all that time suspended, pending good behavior. Special conditions of the suspended sentence include $6,610 in fines and fees, 150 hours of community service and two years of court supervision.

Zhao faced up to life in prison when she was initially charged.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics began an investigation in September after officers with the Mannford Police Department located the large quantity of marijuana in a vehicle during an August traffic stop.

An affidavit said the vehicle's driver and passenger admitted to driving from Little Rock to a marijuana grow in Yale called Maria's Green LLC. The investigation led to Zhao — the claimed manager of the grow.

It was discovered that Zhao had been associated with other marijuana grows under different names at the same location, and Maria's Green LLC licenses were obtained through fraud. She obtained the licenses from the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority and registered with the OBN as a legal grow operation under another business name.

OBN agents said Zhao admitted to growing illegal marijuana and selling it to the individuals who trafficked it to Arkansas.

Agents raided Maria's Grow LLC and located four firearms, 24,512 live plants, 308 pounds of processed marijuana flower and $59,000 in cash.

Affidavit: man possessed, traded child pornography

Cole Toben, 19, was arrested on Feb. 16 because he possessed apparent child pornography material and shared it via Snapchat over the course of several months, according to an affidavit.

Stillwater Police Department detectives said they were notified of a National Center for Missing & Exploited Children cybertip on Feb. 4, 2022. Snapchat reported that an individual uploaded apparent child pornography.

Snapchat provided additional material on Feb. 7, 2022, and March 5. Detectives said there were multiple chats referencing trading pictures of girls that are between 10 and 17 years old.

In an interview with the detectives, Toben allegedly stated that he started trading pictures on Instagram and eventually moved to Snapchat. Detectives said he told them he knew it was wrong, he last traded in December and he deserves to be punished for it.

Toben was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography and unlawful access to computers to violate Oklahoma statutes. He faces up to 45 years in prison and $55,000 in fines.

A family member posted his $50,000 cash bond.

Toben pleaded not guilty during a hearing on Monday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 3.