Traffic stop leads to arrest of Mass. man for pot possession
WOONSOCKET — A Massachusetts man was arrested Friday as police seized nearly a quarter pound of marijuana during a traffic stop.
Kenneth M. Wood, 27, of 40 Bellingham Road, Bellingham, is charged with possession of more than an ounce of marijuana, which is still a criminal offense in Rhode Island.
Police said Wood was one of four people riding in a Honda Civic that ran a red light at Social Street and Diamond Hill Road at about 2:30 a.m.
Officer Nicholas Maglio said his attention was immediately drawn to Wood, who was seated behind the driver, due to his unusually fidgety manner. Maglio thought he might be trying to conceal a weapon – and he was, the officer said.
Maglio reported that Wood was “moving frantically,” putting him in fear as he approached the vehicle.
After Maglio ordered Wood to put his hands on the seat in front of him, the officer said he saw a sheathed knife attached to his belt. Wood wasn’t charged with any offense connected to the weapon, but police seized if for safekeeping, they said.
After Officer Daniel Wild arrived to assist, the policemen removed Wood from the vehicle and frisked him.
That’s when officers retrieved a glassine bag from his jacket pocket.
The weight of the bag was over 3.9 ounces when it was put on a scale later at police headquarters, the officers said.
Police said the Honda was scattered with loose marijuana, but no one else in the vehicle was charged with a criminal offense. The driver, a woman in her 20s who was not otherwise identified, was issued a summons to the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal for failing to obey a traffic signal.
Although the General Assembly has decriminalized possession of marijuana if the amount is less than an ounce, anyone convicted of possessing more than an ounce is guilty of a misdemeanor. Under the Rhode Island General Laws, the crime carries a penalty of up to a year in jail and fines of $200-500.
The General Assembly is considering full decriminalization of recreational marijuana during the current legislative session.