After Stop for Cell Phone Use by Driver
From the Westchester County Police Department:
In New York State, any person 21 or older is permitted to have up to three ounces of the leafy variety in their possession in public. Three men arrested the other night were a wee bit over that amount.
Following a traffic stop on the Cross County Parkway, the trio was found to be hauling 125 pounds of marijuana in their vehicle. The weed has an estimated street value in excess of $100,000. In addition, more than $43,000 in cash was found in the car.
Our tale unfolds one night last week when PO Peluso made a traffic stop on the CCP in Mount Vernon for an observed cell phone violation. As he approached the driver, he also saw there were two passengers in the car and multiple bags of various sizes, shapes and colors throughout the passenger compartment. In speaking with the driver, and through training and experience, he quickly recognized possible signs of potential marijuana trafficking.
After further investigation, the three suspects (from Connecticut) were taken into custody and the car, a Toyota Camry with Illinois plates, was impounded. Back at headquarters, officers and detectives inventoried the contents of the bags and others like them found in the trunk. Assuming you already looked at the accompanying photo, you know what they found.
Our three suspects are not being identified at this time due to an ongoing investigation. They were charged with Criminal Possession of Cannabis 1st Degree, a felony.
Nice job by PO Peluso! He recognized signs of possible trafficking and investigated accordingly.
And we’d be remiss if we didn’t add: Never use a cell phone while driving without a hands-free device.
Note: This arrest and discovery of such a large amount of marijuana points to another fact. Despite the legalization of marijuana in New York, there is still a black market that exists and continues to sell pot. Some social media comments on this story say the reason is that the price for legal marijuana is too high because of the NYS taxation. This gripe comes years after marijuana users called for legalization.
