This section is based on data provided to the Northern Valley Press by neighborhood police departments. Due to pending court appearances and other variations, the following information shall be read in “press time” context.
WOODCLIFF LAKE––Drug arrests reported
– On July 22, at 1:17 a.m., Officer Simon Sherfer was working at the town’s DUI checkpoint on Glen Road when he saw a white Acura sedan enter a left turn lane with its blinker on, but then swerve right and continue going straight toward Chestnut Ridge Road. The officer closed the gap with the car, and pulled it over in a driveway. Upon making contact with the driver, a 31-year-old male from the Bronx, the officer detected a strong odor of marijuana. The driver said he had actually meant to make the turn, but his GPS told him to continue straight. When asked about the odor, he stated that he had “a little bit of weed” and rolling papers. He turned these over to the officer, who then noticed a white Styrofoam cup with an alcoholic beverage inside, which neither the driver nor his passenger claimed to have been drinking. He said that he had smoked four to five hours ago, and was no longer under the influence of anything. He was arrested, and determined to have a 0.00% BAC, but tests revealed that he was still under the influence of cannabis. He was charged with DUI, improper turning, driving with a CDS and unsafe lane change. His passenger was charged with possession of marijuana and paraphernalia.
– On July 21, an officer was conducting a DUI checkpoint on Glen Road, near the Garden State Parkway, when a silver Volkswagen passed through wtih three people inside. When the driver rolled down the window, the officer smelled the strong odor of raw marijuana coming from inside. All three occupants, a 21-year-old woman from Clifton, and two 22-year-old men from HoHoKus and Upper Saddle River, said there was nothing illegal inside the car. A probable-cause search was conducted, which revealed a sandwich bag of marijuana, wax paper folds with what was believed to be marijuana wax inside, a pipe and a grinder. The man in the back seat also had a vaporizer with marijuana inside his pocket. All three actors were arrested for possession, and it was determined that the driver was under the influence of marijuana, so the car was towed from the checkpoint and impounded.
– On Aug. 4, Officer Hansen was checking storefronts, when he saw a white pickup truck being driven by a 27-year-old Teaneck man pull around the corner at Tice Boulevard and Tice Avenue, and then make a turn with no directional signal. He caught up to the car on Glen Road, where he watched the car perform an unsafe lane change with no signal. He pulled the car over just past Chestnut Ridge Road. Upon talking with the driver, he noticed the smell of burnt marijuana, and saw that the man had bloodshot, watery eyes. The suspect said he had recently smoked at the Woodcliff Lake Hilton with a friend, and handed over a roach. A search of the vehicle yielded rolling papers, seven more roaches, a weed brownie, a cigarette pack full of roaches and a glass bowl. The driver was arrested, and determined to be driving under the influence after tests were conducted. He faces charges of driving under the influence, possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle, failure to maintain lamps and failure to use a signal.