Johnston Police Issue Report on Arrest of Two Prov. Teens

The driver of a car pulled over on May 6 had drugs, knives, and an air soft pistol in his vehicle, reported this week.

Ptlm. Kevin Brady pulled over the 2000 Infiniti driven by Kennedy A. Arias, 19, of 121 Ledge St., Providence, on Plainfield Street just after 10 pm because the rear license plate wasn't illuminated, the Providence Journal reported.

According to the arrest record released to JohnstonPatch this week, Brady reported that the windows of the car also had illegal tint on them, leading him to stop Arias.

Brady wrote that he "detected an overwhelming odor of marijuana" coming from inside the car and spoke with Arias and the passenger in the car, identified as Richard Hernandez, 19, of 9 Halton St.

As he walked away from the car, Brady reported, he saw Hernandez take off his jacket and "throw it in the backseat," which "further raised my suspicion that there were narcotics inside the vehicle."

Capt. Frank Levesque and Ptlm. Matthew Leveillee then arrived to assist, Brady wrote.

After ordering the two men from the car, Brady reported that he searched each of them for drugs, then looked through the vehicle. Brady stated that Hernandez admitted to having a bag of marijuana in one of the pockets of his jacket, which Levesque found.

Officers charged Hernandez with a midemeanor count of marijuana possession and released him until a Third District Court hearing scheduled for May 16.

A further search of the car turned up 23 grams of marijuana, a grinding tool to break down marijuana, a replica Sig Sauer air soft (pellet) pistol, three knives with blades longer than 3 inches each, $975 in cash, and a bottle of vodka.

Officers charged Arias with felony counts of possession of drugs with intent to deliver and drug possession; and misdemeanor counts of underage possession of alcohol, possession of weapons other than firearms, and driving in possession of illegal drugs.

Following his arraignment on May 7 in Third District Court, Arias was ordered held without bail at the Adult Correctional Institutions in Cranston until a hearing scheduled for May 14.