Cops smell pot before pulling over car

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

An officer who pulled over a car about 5:35 p.m. Tuesday said he could smell marijuana coming from the vehicle while he was still in his cruiser.

Officer George Anderson wrote in a report he pulled over a car at the Wick Avenue entrance ramp to the Madison Avenue Expressway for an improper turn and he could smell marijuana coming from the car as soon as he got behind it.

The driver, Clarence Williams, 31, of Youngstown, had no driver’s license and gave police a false name and fake Social Security number.

When he gave the police officer the real information, it was revealed he had several open suspensions on his license, reports said.

Williams was cited with driving under suspension and failure to properly use child restraints. A 5-year-old child was in the back seat, reports said.

Williams also had $754 in cash on him, reports said.

A passenger, Destiney Smith, 26, of Youngstown, was cited with possession of marijuana because there was suspected marijuana in the car where she was sitting, reports said, some in a pill bottle and some loose marijuana on the floor.

In another traffic stop about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, Marcus Whitted, 30, of West Princeton Avenue, was cited with possession of dangerous drugs after police found 21 pills in a bottle in his car. He was pulled over at Gibson and Indianola avenues on the South Side for an improper turn, reports said.