New Canaan police on Sunday night cited a pair of Westchester teens on minor drug and alcohol charges after a motor vehicle stop yielded pot, smoking gear and malt liquor in their car.
An 18-year-old from Pound Ridge, N.Y., a passenger in the car, was cited for possession of less than .5 ounces of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of alcohol by a minor. The driver, a 17-year-old from Bedford, N.Y., was cited for a defective marker light.
At about 10:27 p.m., an officer saw the marker light out as the car traveled west on Cherry Street near South Avenue, according to a police report.
Stopping the vehicle, police noticed that the driver was very nervous and that the passenger was trying to hide something on the floor near his feet, the police report said.
The officer smelled marijuana and saw the 18-year-old trying to hide something in his pants—it turned out to be a metal grinder, plastic bag with a small amount of pot and a flask of alcohol, the report said.
Later, police found a 40 oz. bottle of malt liquor that was three-quarters full, pack of rolling papers and pink vaporizer.
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Addressing what New Canaan Police have called a “traffic safety epidemic” here in town, police last week issued nine tickets to motorists caught for distracted driving.
Police could be seen ticketing motorists yapping on their cellphones near the intersection of Elm and Main Streets.
Between Monday and Friday of last week, tickets were issued to people from all over Fairfield County, including New Canaan, from teens to motorists in their 40s, according to police.
It’s not the first time this summer that local police have focused on distracted drivers.
During targeted enforcement for distracted driving in mid-June, New Canaan police issued 14 tickets including nine for cellphone use.