Crime & Safety

Crack in 'Batman' Bag Leads to Arrest

Blown stop sign leads to arrest by the Hopatcong Police.

A 49-year-old Hopatcong woman and a 34-year-old Plains, Pa., man were arrested and charged July 18 with possession of crack cocaine, Hopatcong police said.

According to Lt. Thomas Kmetz, Officer Thomas Snyder and his K-9 partner Eli stopped Sean McGoldrick on Ithanell Road after McGoldrick drove through a stop sign at the intersection of Durban and River Styx Road.

Snyder saw a cut straw sticking out from under the driver's seat and a metal push rod on the floor; both items are commonly used as paraphernalia for crack and/or cocaine, Kmetz said. 

The passenger, Patricia Dittmar, stayed in the car while McGoldrick was asked to the back of the vehicle to speak with Snyder and was found to have a hypodermic needle in his pocket, Kmetz said.

K-9 Eli was used to sniff the vehicle where he hit on the passenger side door, Kmetz said.

Once the door was opened, Eli hit between the front passenger seat and the center console where Snyder found a cigarette pack that contained a crack pipe and 16 small ziplock bags stamped with a Batman symbol which contained suspected crack cocaine, Kmetz said. 

Neither McGoldrick nor Dittmar claimed ownership of the Batman bags and they were both arrested, Kmetz said.

McGoldrick was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a hypodermic needle, possession of crack cocaine, CDS in a motor vehicle and failure to stop, Kmetz said.

Dittmar was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of crack cocaine, Kmetz said. Both were taken to headquarters, processed, charged and later released, Kmetz said. 

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