Port Authority police arrested an East Orange NJ man who allegedly had cocaine and marijuana inside his car.
According to law enforcement, the 55-year-old suspect was traveling near the Holland Tunnel toll plaza when a patrol officer pulled over the suspect’s vehicle because it had an expired inspection sticker. The traffic stop occurred at the Holland Tunnel toll lanes in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Additionally, the suspect had a 17-year-old girl as a passenger in the vehicle.
While conducting the traffic stop, the police officer realized that the driver had outstanding arrest warrants out of both East Orange and Newark.
Moreover, the police officer said that he smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car. When the officer told both the driver and the 17-year-old passenger that he smelled marijuana, the passenger admitted that she was in possession of a small bag of marijuana.
The officer inquired further and learned that the teen also had a bag of cocaine on her person. The girl claimed that the suspect had handed her the bag when the car was initially pulled over.
Police later learned that the suspect is an auto mechanic in East Orange and that he was driving a client’s car.
The suspect was placed under arrest and charged with a number of drug crimes, including cocaine possession, heroin possession, cocaine possession with intent to distribute, and heroin possession with intent to distribute.
Additionally, the presence of the underage girl in the car led authorities to charge the suspect with employing a juvenile in a drug distribution scheme.
Meanwhile, the young girl in the car was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of cocaine. She was later released into the custody of one of her parents.
At a bail hearing held sometime after the arrest, a Central Judicial Processing judge set the adult suspect’s bail at $100,000.
Although the suspect was allegedly using his client’s car without consent or authorization, authorities did not charge the suspect with theft because the owner of the vehicle refused to press charges.
For further information about this case, view the NJ.com article entitled “Essex County Man Busted for Cocaine Near Holland Tunnel, P.A. Cops Say.”
