UPDATED: Police Blotter: Arrests for Pot, Fraud

DUI Checkpoint Yields Two Narcotics Arrests:

When Mohsin Sheikh went through the DUI checkpoint on Old Stamford Road near the entrance to the Merritt Parkway Saturday, Jan. 2, at 9:18 p.m. the officer reported he smelled a strong odor of marijuana. According to the police report, the 20-year-old from Sunset Road in Easton admitted to having smoked marijuana earlier that evening. The officer found rolling papers on Sheikh and a small glass bowl with burnt marijuana residue in it in the vehicle console. He was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and released at the scene on a promise to appear in court Jan. 14.

The second narcotics arrest was made at 10:05 p.m. when an officer smelled the odor of marijuana coming from another vehicle stopped at the checkpoint. After the officer asked the driver and passenger to exit the vehicle he found a cigarette-colored pipe with burnt marijuana residue in it that the officer found in the center console. Jaime Longo, the passenger, claimed the pipe and was issued a misdemeanor summons and released at the scene. The 19-year-old from Hilltop Avenue in Stamford is due in court Jan. 12.

Police also made a dozen other stops while manning the checkpoint issuing verbal warnings and infractions for four expired registrations, one seatbelt violation, a defective headlight, a missing front plate, and an insert violation. In half a dozen instances officers smelled the odor of alcohol, but no driving while intoxicated arrests were warranted.


Teens Cited for Alcohol Possession:

Three 18-year-olds from New Canaan were reportedly caught with alcohol on Lost District Drive near Alan Lane Sunday, Jan. 1, shortly before 1 a.m.

An officer patrolling along Lost District Drive came across a vehicle parked by the side of the road with the interior light on. While asking the two young men inside the vehicle and third standing outside what they were doing there, he reportedly saw a bottle of alcohol in plain view on the floor in the rear of the car. In addition to the half empty 1-liter bottle of gin, the officer reported finding two unopened cans of Bud Light.

Since none of the three teenagers admitted ownership, all three were issued infractions for possession of alcohol by a minor on a public highway. The teens can pay the mail-in fine and face a 60-day drivers' license suspension or check the not-guilty box to get a court hearing.


Wallet, Blackberry Missing or Stolen from YMCA Lot:

A 64-year-old man was headed into the YMCA for a workout around 10 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 27, when he turned back to stow his wallet and Blackberry in his car. After his workout, around 10:40 a.m., the wallet and Blackberry were no longer in the driver's side door compartment where he thought he'd left them. The man told police he may have mistakenly put the items in the wrong car as he parked next to a vehicle of the same make and model—a grey Volvo XC70 station wagon. The complainant's driver's license and some credit cards were inside the black leather wallet, valued at $10; the missing Blackberry Curve was valued at $150.


Former Citibank Employee Turns Herself In:

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Charlette Gore on Jan. 28, 2009 for third degree larceny stemming from a complaint about $2,800 in unauthorized withdrawals from a Citibank account at the end of 2008.

In November, 2008, the complainant, a 64-year-old New York City-based architect, had issued a $300 check to Gore's father, a contractor who worked for her. The architect called Citibank when another $300 she had not authorized was withdrawn from her account on the same day the check was cashed. While that withdrawal was being investigated, another $2,500 went missing. The two fraudulent withdrawals were made at the bank's New Canaan branch where Gore was working as a teller, making her a suspect in the case.

Gore turned herself in around 3:15 p.m. on Dec. 29, nearly a year after she had been notified about the warrant for her arrest. She posted $5,000 bond and is due in court on Jan. 11, 2010.