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Night Police Lights CT State Police on Facebook March 30-17 uploaded 06-20-17

Police: DUI, Drug Charges for Man Found Driving, Drinking and With Cocaine

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A 26-year-old man driving downtown around 1 a.m. Saturday was stopped by police for a traffic violation, then they found he was intoxicated and had cocaine, police said. Darien police gave this account of what happened, including accusations not proven in court:

At about 1:06 a.m., Nicolas Panagiotopoulos of Glenbrook Road in Stamford was driving west (toward Stamford) on the Post Road. He didn’t stop for the traffic light, then flashing red, at the intersection of the road with the exit ramp for Interstate 95 North (near the car dealership). A police officer saw the gray 2016 Volkswagen Jetta go through the traffic light at what the officer thought was a high rate of speed and stopped the car. When Panagiotopoulos told the officer that he was coming from a Norwalk restaurant, the officer could see that the driver’s eyes were glassy and bloodshot, and the officer could smell the strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the car.

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Police: Woman, 23, Charged After Pot, Pills Found in Her Purse

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A 23-year-old woman in a car stopped in the Parklands Drive office park lot had marijuana, smoking devices, loose pills and prescription bottles in her purse, police said. Darien police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

Shortly after 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25, a police officer saw a Nissan with heavily tinted windows going through the Parklands office park parking lot. Since the officer couldn’t see through the windows, the car was stopped near the parking lot entrance at Old Kings Highway North. (It isn’t legal to have windows too darkly tinted in Connecticut.)

When the officer spoke to the driver and an occupant, the strong odor of burnt marijuana wafted out through the window.

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Police: License Plate Violations Lead to Drug Arrest

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A green Volkswagen without a front license plate and a rear plate “not on file” was spotted by a Darien police officer, which led to the driver being stopped and, ultimately, arrested on a drug possession charge, police said. Police described what happened with this account, including accusations not proven in court:

At about 3:57 p.m., Sunday Oct. 8, the officer saw the vehicle being driven east somewhere on Middlesex Road. It is illegal to drive without a front license plate in Connecticut. The officer checked out the license plate number from the rear plate and found it wasn’t on file.

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Police: Woman, 22, with Pot and Drugs, Drove Uninsured Car Missing License Plate

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When Darien police stopped a 22-year-old driver because she had no front license plate on her car, they found the car was uninsured, her driver’s license was suspended, and she had marijuana and pills with her that she said was “ecstasy,” according to police. Police gave this further account of the incident, including accusations not proven in court:

At 8:25 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4, a police officer saw a 2005 brown Nissan Altima being driven on West Avenue. When the car was stopped, the officer smelled the odor of burnt marijuana coming from the vehicle. Police dog Kenny was brought to the traffic stop and indicated narcotics were in the car.

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Darien Police Department

UPDATE: Police: Man, 21, Sold Marijuana and Was Arrested in Woodland Park

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A 21-year-old man found with two other people and the odor of burnt marijuana wafting about them, was charged with selling the illegal drug after a police dog indicated there was pot in the man’s car and cops found it, police said. _________

Editor’s note: This article was revised after police answered several questions about details of the incident. _________

Darien police gave this account of the incident, including accusations not proven in court:

On Tuesday, Sept. 5, at 8:23 p.m., an officer on patrol saw a 1992 Nissan Stanza parked in the Woodland Park lot at the Middlesex Road entrance to the park after dusk (the park’s closing time). When the officer spoke with three men sitting on a bench (two of them 21 years old; the other, 19) he smelled burnt marijuana.

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Police: After Cop Spots Possible No Seatbelt Use, Traffic Stop Leads to Drug Charges

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It began, police said,  with an officer noticing that a car passenger appeared not to be wearing a seatbelt, it got worse after police stopped the car and found more violations of the law. Eventually the passenger was arrested on drug possession charges, the driver with vehicle-related charges (no one was charged with not wearing a seat belt). Darien police gave this description of what happened with the following account, including accusations not proven in court:

A police officer first noticed what seemed to be the lack of seatbelt use at about 12:18 p.m. on Saturday, July 22 as a gray 2001 Chevrolet Blazer was traveling east on the Post Road, near Thorndal Circle. A routine check of the North Carolina license plate on the car showed that the plate actually belonged to a 1991 Ford Mustang. The police officer pulled up behind the Blazer, which quickly turned into the gas station at 1358 Post Road.

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Police: Driver Had Opioid Pill in Car Stopped for Tinted Windows, Cracked Windshield

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Police found a prescription opioid tablet in a car after they stopped it for having a cracked windshield and windows that appeared to be tinted too darkly, Darien police said. Darien police gave this account (including accusations not proven in court):

At 7:45 a.m. on Tuesday, May 9 officers saw a green 2005 Nissan Altima with dark windows and windshield crack traveling on the Post Road at the Interstate 95 entrance near Exit 13. Police checked records and found that the license plate belonged to a Honda Civic, not the Nissan Altima. The driver — Tory Hinton, 32, of Fairfield Avenue in Stamford — said he had switched plates on his girlfriend’s car in order to take the Nissan to Stamford to be repaired. Hinton didn’t have registration or insurance papers for the car.

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Driver, 33, Charged with Drug Possession, Motor Vehicle Violations

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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.