Living and working here in the Garden State, one finds that police activity on our highways and byways is certainly not hidden from everyday commuters. Whether driving through Mercer, Union, Somerset or Monmouth County, motorists are witness to routine traffic stops nearly every day on the parkway or interstates, city streets and rural routes. Of those frequent roadside occurrences, drunk driving arrests are hardly uncommon, especially during the holidays and warmer months.
As New Jersey DWI-DUI defense lawyers, my colleagues and I have for years provided our services to motorists who have been accused of driving while intoxicated. Whether coming from a company social function, family picnic or other friendly gathering, if alcohol was consumed — even in small quantities — there exists the opportunity for a DWI arrest. Frankly, being pulled over for driving under the influence of alcohol in Jersey is almost a regular occurrence in some parts of the state.
In any case, a wide range of alcohol- and drug-related police arrests can be read about in almost any newspaper or online news site. As professional legal experts, my staff have seen their fair share of courtroom scenarios play out over the years. From DWI-related auto accidents and underage drunk driving, to arrests involving CDS (controlled dangerous substance) possession in a motor vehicle or drug DUI, my firm has the legal background and the trial experience to represent clients who wish to fight for their rights under the law.
Take, for instance, several incidents in the Salem County, NJ, area involving DWI and other alcohol, drug and DUI-related offenses. As with most of the arrests published in police blotters around the state, these events illustrate some of the many circumstances surrounding drunk driving and drug DUI cases that end up in New Jersey courtrooms on a regular basis.
In the first case, a Pennsville patrolman apparently topped a motor vehicle for what was a routine vehicle equipment infraction. Upon interviewing the 21-year-old female driver, the officer reportedly smelled an odor not unlike that of burnt marijuana emanating from the vehicle’s interior. The officer requested the driver’s consent to search the vehicle and upon receiving that located a glassine baggie with what appeared to be weed allegedly inside the driver’s purse. The Salem City driver was taken into custody and charged with possession of less than 50gm of suspected marijuana. The officer took the woman in to police headquarters where she was processed and later released pending a court hearing.
In a second instance, police were called to the scene of a residence where a tractor-trailer rig had allegedly backed over a homeowner’s lawn, creating deep ruts in the grass. Pennsville police officers determined that an out-of-state semi-truck driver ran over the complainant’s property while trying to turn his rig around. Officers did not find evident of drunk driving on the commercial trucker’s part; however, the 22-year-old driver was cited for violating a township ordinance by operating a truck weighing more than four tons on that residential street, as well as a summons for careless driving.
In a third occurrence, police arrested two individuals after an off-duty patrolman observed an alleged drug deal in progress out of a private vehicle. Based on news reports, the alleged drug sale took place in vehicle parking area just off W. Pittsfield St. when an adult male walked up to the suspects’ vehicle. Not long after that exchange, police pulled the suspects’ vehicle over on Rte 49 on suspicion of dealing drugs from a motor vehicle. According to reports, police arrested one of the individuals and charged him with possession of under four doses of a prescription legend drug. The man was later released pending a future court appearance.
Pennsville Police Blotter includes disorderly conduct, DWI, shoplifting; NJ.com, July 11, 2013