FITCHBURG — When he appears in Gardner District Court Friday, Hector Hernandez will plead not guilty to a charge he drove his car under the influence of marijuana on Sunday.
Mr. Hernandez, 27, of 92 Plymouth St., was pulled over on Route 2 in Westminster because of, police allege, an improper inspection sticker.
But Mr. Hernandez claims the sticker is valid through the end of the month; therefore, there was no reason for the state trooper to stop him. He is, he said, the victim of a law enforcement community that is upset about the passage of a new statute decriminalizing possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
And if he hadn’t been stopped, the trooper might not have smelled marijuana and alleged that Mr. Hernandez was under the influence of the drug while he was driving.
“He said, ‘I smell weed,’ ” Mr. Hernandez said of Trooper David Fleming. “And I told him, ‘I probably got a roach in the car.’ ”
Mr. Hernandez said he also had “another joint” in his pocket and that he’d made no effort to conceal the smell the two items were emitting. He didn’t think he’d be in trouble because of the new law that took effect on Jan. 2, and he didn’t have anywhere near an ounce of pot in his car. The law provides for a $100 civil fine.
But how much marijuana he was carrying didn’t matter because it is a criminal offense to drive under the influence of the drug, and police alleged he was driving in such a state.
Mr. Hernandez denied that he was affected by any drugs while he drove west on Route 2 with a female passenger in his car. He said yesterday he’d smoked marijuana earlier in the day but noted that the drug wasn’t affecting him by the time he was pulled over. He said marijuana doesn’t leave him feeling high, but “relaxed,” and is similar to “smoking a fine cigar.”
“It makes you a better driver. You’re paranoid and you drive slower,” he said.
News of the arrest reached some of his friends and acquaintances and Mr. Hernandez, who works in construction, said he’s been made to feel like “a pothead” who spent all day yesterday explaining what had happened.
The father of two said he’s held down the same job – where he is sometimes tested for drug use and quit smoking pot for a period before those screenings – for years.
He said he believes the incident is just the first of many to come because police are angry that the new law was passed.
“It was retaliation,” he said, adding that the police made comments during his arrest inferring just that.
But state police spokesman Lt. Eric Anderson said that’s not the case, and troopers are continuing to enforce the laws pertaining to impaired driving regardless of the recent changes in the marijuana possession law.
He said police have computers in their cruisers and often “run” license plates during traffic patrols. The information on the computer would have shown the status of the inspection sticker and, if it was expired, that would be a reason to pull over the car.
Lt. Anderson said he trusts the integrity of the trooper and believes he has the experience to “make a determination” as to whether a driver is impaired.
http://telegram.com/article/20090106/NEWS/901060428/1005/NEWS06
Mr. Hernandez, 27, of 92 Plymouth St., was pulled over on Route 2 in Westminster because of, police allege, an improper inspection sticker.
But Mr. Hernandez claims the sticker is valid through the end of the month; therefore, there was no reason for the state trooper to stop him. He is, he said, the victim of a law enforcement community that is upset about the passage of a new statute decriminalizing possession of less than an ounce of marijuana.
And if he hadn’t been stopped, the trooper might not have smelled marijuana and alleged that Mr. Hernandez was under the influence of the drug while he was driving.
“He said, ‘I smell weed,’ ” Mr. Hernandez said of Trooper David Fleming. “And I told him, ‘I probably got a roach in the car.’ ”
Mr. Hernandez said he also had “another joint” in his pocket and that he’d made no effort to conceal the smell the two items were emitting. He didn’t think he’d be in trouble because of the new law that took effect on Jan. 2, and he didn’t have anywhere near an ounce of pot in his car. The law provides for a $100 civil fine.
But how much marijuana he was carrying didn’t matter because it is a criminal offense to drive under the influence of the drug, and police alleged he was driving in such a state.
Mr. Hernandez denied that he was affected by any drugs while he drove west on Route 2 with a female passenger in his car. He said yesterday he’d smoked marijuana earlier in the day but noted that the drug wasn’t affecting him by the time he was pulled over. He said marijuana doesn’t leave him feeling high, but “relaxed,” and is similar to “smoking a fine cigar.”
“It makes you a better driver. You’re paranoid and you drive slower,” he said.
News of the arrest reached some of his friends and acquaintances and Mr. Hernandez, who works in construction, said he’s been made to feel like “a pothead” who spent all day yesterday explaining what had happened.
The father of two said he’s held down the same job – where he is sometimes tested for drug use and quit smoking pot for a period before those screenings – for years.
He said he believes the incident is just the first of many to come because police are angry that the new law was passed.
“It was retaliation,” he said, adding that the police made comments during his arrest inferring just that.
But state police spokesman Lt. Eric Anderson said that’s not the case, and troopers are continuing to enforce the laws pertaining to impaired driving regardless of the recent changes in the marijuana possession law.
He said police have computers in their cruisers and often “run” license plates during traffic patrols. The information on the computer would have shown the status of the inspection sticker and, if it was expired, that would be a reason to pull over the car.
Lt. Anderson said he trusts the integrity of the trooper and believes he has the experience to “make a determination” as to whether a driver is impaired.
http://telegram.com/article/20090106/NEWS/901060428/1005/NEWS06
