Dayton police officers conducting a routine traffic stop found thousands of dollars worth of cash, drugs and paraphernalia in the suspect’s car early Sunday.

Pete Thompson, 46, was arrested on suspicion of drug trafficking at about 3:30 a.m. Sunday after a search of his car yielded nearly $20,000 in cash, about 42 grams of marijuana and a scale and plastic baggies police think he used to distribute the drugs.

Officers stopped Thompson’s car in a gas station parking lot after he ran a red light at the intersections of North Gettysburg and West Hillcrest avenues.

After smelling marijuana in the car, the officers asked Thompson and his passenger to leave the car and sit in the back of the police cruiser.

One of the officers found the marijuana, scale and baggies in the passenger area of the car, police said.

When he searched the car’s trunk, the officer found a “large amount of cash” bundled into several stacks with rubber bands, police said. According to a Dayton Police Department incident report, Thompson told the officer the bag contained his life savings, exactly $17,000. Investigators later counted the money from the bag, totaling $16,905.

Thompson also claimed the marijuana and said he paid $300 for it.

Officers found another $1,847 in cash on Thompson when he was taken to police headquarters for questioning.

The car’s passenger was not arrested.