An officer from another department turned the black messenger bag over to township police after finding it while working a road construction detail on Union Valley Road near Sussex Drive, police said.
Inside, Officer Stephen Herzog reported finding prescription bottles with the name of George Richards, 58, several bottles without labels and a “large quantity” of opioid pain killers.
He contacted Richards, who showed up at headquarters to collect his bag.
Detectives Nicholas Snook and Donald Fantasia interviewed Richards, who was eventually charged with illegal drug possession and released pending a first appearance in Central Judicial Processing Court in Paterson.
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