A 33-year-old man who drove through a flashing red light on the Post Road and Sedgewick Avenue at 2 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 5, was stopped by police, who later arrested him on drug possession charges, larceny and several motor vehicle violations, police said.
Darien police described what happened with this account (including accusations not proven in court):
Thomas Schmidt Jr. of East Main Street in Branford was driving a blue 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee north on Sedgewick Avenue when he failed to stop for the light at the corner of Sedgewick and the Post Road.
A check of the Jeep’s license plate showed that it had been reported stolen in New Haven. A police officer stopped the Jeep on Mansfield Avenue near Roland Drive.
When questioned by police, Schmidt admitted he had a small amount of marijuana and some cocaine with him. Police found two small plastic containers on him. One, with a small amount of green leafy substance field tested positive for marijuana, the other, a white powdery substance, field tested positive for cocaine.
Schmidt said he had just bought the Jeep the day before and had taken the license plate with him from the dealership.
The vehicle was towed and Schmidt was charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana (first offense), driving an unregistered motor vehicle, failing to obey a traffic control signal, driving a motor vehicle with a suspended driver’s license, improper use of a license plate and sixth-degree larceny.
He was initially held on a $1,500 bond, but a bail commissioner later reduced that to a promise to appear in state Superior Court in Stamford, where he is scheduled to be on Feb. 15.