When police stopped to check on the well-being of the driver of a car stopped by the side of the road with hazard lights flashing one recent afternoon, they smelled marijuana, then the driver gave them a false name, police said.
Darien police gave this account of the incident:
At 3:44 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5, police saw the car stopped by the side of Brookside Road near Buttonwood Lane. The man told a police officer his “battery light” went on and his car “just died.” While talking with the driver, the officer smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle.
When asked for his driver’s license, the man said he didn’t have it with him. The officer asked him for his name and date of birth. The man’s answer, with the name “Jesse Turner,” was checked with state motor vehicle department records, which had no such matching name and birthdate. (This was alleged lie No. 1 in the police account.)
Asked a second time, the man gave a different birthdate. That didn’t match either (alleged lie No. 2). Police then asked the driver to give his real identity. This time, the man said “Rashad Smith” and said his license was from New York state, not Connecticut.
He said he had lied about his identity because was nervous. A check of New York motor vehicle records also came up blank (alleged lie No. 3). Police told the driver he was being detained until they could figure out who he was.
Asked if anything illegal was in the vehicle, the man replied that he had a “spliff” (marijuana cigarette) in the center console. When they searched the car, police found a marijuana cigarette, an ashtray and a scale, each with marijuana residue on them, and a small plastic bag with 2.5 grams of marijuana in it.
While looking for the pot, police found a wallet with the name “Jaurean Reid” on some of the documents in it. The man said Jaurean Reid was his brother (alleged lie No. 4).
When police confronted him again about his frequent changes of identity, the driver admitted that Jaurean Reid was his real name. Reid, 21, lives on Platt Street in Bridgeport. He said he had tried to use his cousin’s name and date of birth, but didn’t think he had the correct information.
Jaurean Reid was arrested on charges of criminal impersonation, interfering with an investigation, driving with a suspended license and possession of less than half an ounce of marijuana. He was released after posting a $2,500 cash bond and is due to appear July 19 in state Superior Court in Stamford.
Editor’s note, a little more information (about police asking for the man’s driver’s license) was added to this article, along with the numbering of the alleged lies, at 6:41 p.m., July 12.