Avalon man faces charges after marijuana, THC-laced items found during traffic stop in Richland
Share this post:
A man from Avalon faces a felony drug charge after more than an ounce of marijuana and a variety of other cannabis products were discovered in his car during a traffic stop.
In addition to a felony charge of possession with the intent to deliver drugs, Zachary Robert Bolen, 32, of the 6500 block of Virginia Avenue, was charged with drug possession and two traffic violations in connection with the traffic stop in Richland on Sept. 29, according to court records.
Bolen was released on his own recognizance following his arraignment on April 7, according to court records. He faces a preliminary hearing on the charges before District Judge Tom Swan on May 4.
A Northern Regional Police Department officer wrote in the criminal complaint charging Bolen that he was following a black and orange Dodge Dart along Gibsonia Road but was unable to read the license plane because there were “multiple numbers not legible from a reasonable distance.”
The car was pulled over after Bolen made an improper turn onto Route 8, police said.
The officer said he could smell burned marijuana when Bolen cracked open the window to hand over his driver information and questioned him about where it was located in the vehicle, the complaint said.
Bolen told police the marijuana was in a zippered case on the passenger seat and that he had a state medical marijuana card.
When questioned about whether the marijuana was in its original dispensary packaging, Bolen said it was not and disputed that requirement in the state’s medical marijuana law, the complaint said.
Police said they also informed Bolen that the law does not permit medical marijuana patients to smoke it while driving. A field test conducted on Bolen at the scene came back negative for impairment, police said.
Bolen also refused requests from police that he show them the marijuana in his possession.
Police said he continued to refuse them to see the drug and questioned officers about the validity of the traffic stop.
Police said Bolen eventually agreed to show them the marijuana but only if he was allowed to “throw it out” after doing so.
Police told him that the marijuana couldn’t just be thrown out and had to be destroyed.
After agreeing to open the bag for police, who said it contained “many illegal items,” Bolen told them he was selling the drugs to a man he referred to as “Pacman” who lives in South Park and obtains the items from California, the complaint said.
Bolen told police that “Pacman” also had a locked Instagram account where he posts his weekly menu of drugs for sale.
In addition to more than an ounce of marijuana, police confiscated THC laced “gummy bears” as well as a number of electronic cigarette cartridges and vape pens filled with cannabis oil, the complaint said.