LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) – A Canadian woman is in the Angelina County Jail after a deputy pulled her rental car over and she was found with illegal guns and drugs, Sheriff Tom Selman said.

On Wednesday evening, an Angelina County Sheriff’s deputy patrolling US Hwy 59 near the north side of Lufkin observed a 2024 Toyota Corolla speeding northbound. The deputy pulled over and contacted the driver of the Toyota, who was identified as a Lyft rideshare driver from Houston. While speaking with the driver, the deputy smelled a strong odor of marijuana from inside the vehicle and asked the driver to get out of the vehicle to conduct a probable cause investigation to find the contraband.

The woman who paid for Lyft was sitting in the backseat of the Toyota. He was also asked to get out of the vehicle.

Selman said a DPS officer passing by the area stopped at the deputy’s location to provide support while the county dispatcher conducted his search. The teams searched the vehicle and found marijuana in the vehicle and two large bags in the trunk. The Canadian female Lyft customer, identified as Jahtaya O’Day Jah-Kiara Hamilton from Leamington, Ontario, stated that the bags belonged to her.

When the bags were opened, many guns, short-barreled rifles (SBR), magazines and ammunition were found in the bags.

During the investigation, deputies found that the bags contained 20 semi-automatic handguns, some of which had been reported stolen from the Houston area. The investigation into the incident showed that the woman flew to Houston, obtained the weapons from an unknown source and returned to Canada. The Lyft driver was driving him to Little Rock.

Deputies contacted field agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to assist with the investigation. Evidence shows the Canadian was involved in multinational arms smuggling. The SBR is a prohibited weapon and possession is a felony under state and federal law.

Hamilton and the guns are waiting for federal authorities to take them into custody.

The Lyft driver was cited and released.

“The discovery of these stolen guns clearly prevented them from falling into the hands of criminals and street gangs. Lives were likely saved because these guns did not reach anywhere in the United States or Canada. Illegal guns are valuable commodities and command large sums of money outside the United States, and civilians and law enforcement alike “It poses a clear danger to our forces,” he said.

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