Paterson PD: Fleeing Suspect Apparently Lived In Car With Pot Plants

Police arrested a man who’d apparently spent at least two days living in his car on an industrial Paterson street with a collection of marijuana plants, authorities said.

Madison Avenue, between Park and 16th, in Paterson.
Photo Credit: *Googlemaps*

Jerry DeMarco

02/21/2020 9:56 a.m.

Sgt. Joel Santiago responded with two officers to the call along a stretch of Madison Avenue between Park Avenue and 16th Street on Thursday.

In the driver’s seat of a Hyundai Sonata parked on the south side of the street was 39-year-old Racheen Harris, Police Director Jerry Speziale said.

Seeing Santiago, Harris got out of the car, Speziale said.

It was then that the sergeant smelled raw pot, he said.

Santiago ordered Harris back into the vehicle, but he turned and ran north toward 16th Street, the director said.

Officers secured the vehicle while others joined Santiago in chasing down Harris near the corner of East 18th and 16th, he said.

In the car, police found several pot plants on the front and rear seats, Speziale said.

The car was towed to headquarters for processing and Harris was charged with marijuana possession with the intent to distribute it and resisting arrest. He was released pending a hearing in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson.

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