Woman, 79, charged with selling marijuana

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ATLANTA, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- A 79-year-old Atlanta woman was charged with selling marijuana after police found 9 pounds and more than $130,000 in her house.

Norma Cheren was being held in lieu of $25,000 bail Monday, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. She was arrested last week after a search of her home in southeast Atlanta.

The investigation began after police saw a drug sale in the Buckhead neighborhood, investigators said. When they stopped and searched the alleged buyer, they found less than an ounce of marijuana in her car and convinced her to identify the seller.

The search of Cheren's home turned up a container of marijuana and two lunch boxes used to stash her money.

Neighbors were startled by the charges. Jennifer Brown told the Journal-Constitution she was very surprised her neighbor was charged with "doing that kind of stuff."

"This is too much," Brown said.

During a preliminary hearing, a lawyer said Cheren had been scheduled for hip surgery this week.

The arrest is Cheren's second brush with the law. The state Department of Corrections said she was sentenced to seven years probation in 1991 for a drug offense in Baldwin County, about 50 miles southeast of Atlanta.