Police: Darien Man Found with More than 1 Pound of Pot

Loughlin Harris, 22, of Deepwood Road in Darien was found with 1.125 pounds of marijuana in his car Friday after a police officer stopped him at the Whole Foods Market parking lot, police said.

Darien police gave this account of the incident:

An officer driving behind a black 2011 Range Rover on Ledge Road noticed that the car didn’t have a right-turn signal when it turned right into the parking lot at the supermarket on 150 Ledge Rd. She stopped the vehicle.

While talking with Harris, the officer smelled unburnt marijuana. Other officers and the K-9 unit were called in.

Harris was told to leave the vehicle. As he got out, the officer saw two rolling papers on the floor of the vehicle. After he was told a police canine, Zulu, would sniff the car, Harris said he had marijuana on him and took out a small plastic bag with a small amount of marijuana in it.

Zulu sniffed several areas of the passenger compartment and indicated there were illegal drugs in the driver door pocket, the center console and behind the front passenger seat.

Behind the front passenger seat officers found a large plastic bag containing two large heat-sealed bags holding a large amount of a green, leafy substance which later tested positive for marijuana. A smaller bag in the same area had more green leafy substance in it which also tested positive for marijuana.

In the center console, police found a blue glass pipe and several blunt marijuana joints (the police statement was unclear: perhaps they were cigar-sized “Philly blunt” style joints).

The Range Rover Harris was driving was one he had recently purchased. It is subject to confiscation, and Darien police typically apply for authority to confiscate it.

Harris was arrested on charges of felony possession of marijuana, possession of marijuana with intent to sell and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was later released on $15,000 bond and is scheduled to appear Oct. 20 in state Superior Court in Stamford.