8 POUNDS OF POT DISCOVERED IN CAR.

Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer

Two men were arrested Thursday on the Golden State Freeway near Gorman after police found 8 pounds of marijuana in their car, the California Highway Patrol reported Friday.

Jason Boyer, 25, of San Diego and Gustavo Clemente, 22, of Glendora were traveling north on the freeway just south of the Antelope Valley Highway when CHP Officer Marcel Bacon pulled the men over after noticing Clemente wasn't wearing his seat belt.

``When the officer approached their vehicle, he smelled what appeared to be a freshly burnt odor of marijuana,'' said CHP spokesman Doug Sweeney.

Bacon said after the men gave him permission to check the vehicle, he found nearly 8 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of the car. The suspects were booked on suspicion of transporting and possession of marijuana for sale.

CHP officials said it was first believed the suspects were a part of a network of traffickers known to transport marijuana to South Lake Tahoe, Nev. ``It has been a problem between Southern California and Lake Tahoe,'' Sweeney said.

However, a check of a computer system, established between California and Nevada authorities to track drug transportation activities, found that neither Boyer or Clemente was a part of the ring.

``They are first-timers, they said they were to receive $100 per pound and that they needed the money to pay their rent,'' Sweeney said.

Officers Dave Pokorny and Charles Peterson said the men were en route to a ski resort in Lake Tahoe, where they also planned to work during the winter.

Officers and drug-sniffing canines conducted a second search of the 1997 Nissan Sentra on Friday, but no additional drugs were found. The Newhall CHP recently joined a computer network, called the South Lake Eldorado Narcotics Enforcement Team, which tracks criminals who have a record of transporting drugs between Southern California and Nevada, Sweeney said.

Both men are being held in lieu of $100,000 bail and are expected to be arraigned Monday in Newhall Municipal Court.