A routine traffic stop during the early morning hours of Aug. 25 led to drunk driving and drug charges for a 20-year-old New York man. The Baiting Hollow resident is accused of committing multiple offenses including possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute and driving while intoxicated. Reports indicate that his bail has been set at $25,000 cash or $50,000 bond, and he is being held in a detention facility operated by the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office.
East Hampton Town Police officers say that they pulled the man’s vehicle over after observing it cross the center line on Carl Fisher Plaza in Montauk at approximately 1:19 a.m. Officers say that they became suspicious when they noticed that the man behind the wheel had bloodshot eyes, and the officers reportedly detected the odor of alcohol on his breath. Reports indicate that the man was placed in custody on suspicion of drunk driving after failing a standardized field sobriety test.
During a subsequent search of the man’s person and vehicle, officers say that they discovered five small plastic bags containing a substance thought to be cocaine, two cartridges containing a brown substance and a plastic bag containing a green leafy substance. Both of these substances were later identified as marijuana by field tests. Police also claim to have recovered drug paraphernalia including packaging materials and a set of digital scales.
Experienced criminal defense attorneys may question the validity of drug charges when field testing kits have identified unknown substances as illegal narcotics. These kits are inexpensive and easy to use, but they have been known to identify benign substances like baking soda or sugar for cocaine and methamphetamine.
Source: The Newtown Patch, Baiting Hollow Man Charged With Intent To Sell Cocaine: Cops, Lisa Finn, Aug. 27, 2018