Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Hitchhikers' guide to jail

Hitchhikers attempt bribe
By Victor Mimoni, Queens Courier

An anti-crime cop in the 111th Precinct observed three hitchhikers near the corner of Springfield and Northern Boulevards in Bayside - who were "obstructing pedestrian and vehicular traffic."

When Police Officer Spyros Karellas stopped and confronted the trio at about 5:30pm on Tuesday, November 17, he said he "smelled the pungent aroma of marijuana coming from a backpack," allegedly belonging to Christopher Evans, 22, of Tipp City, Ohio. Evans was traveling with San Francisco resident James Kessler, 23 and Seth Ulrich, 17, of Spanaway, Washington.

Karellas detained them and found a bag containing "about 25 grams" of the controlled substance in Evans' backpack, and $18,510 in cash in his jacket pocket.

Cops said that a search of Ulrich's backpack yielded another bag with approximately 25 grams of pot and $15,000 in cash. Kessler's backpack allegedly yielded $13,960 in cash.

According to police, "Evans offered all the money [$47,470 in total] and the marijuana in exchange for not being arrested. The other two, hearing the bribe offer, did not object."

The trio was charged with two counts of bribery, both felonies, and misdemeanor possession.

The hitchhiking trio was jailed and arraigned before Judge Lenora Gerald on Thursday, November 19, who released them in their own recognizance. If convicted of the most serious bribery charge, they could go to state prison for seven years. They are due back in court December 3.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

The judge ror'd 3 guys from out of town,no bail.Moron!

FlooshingRezident said...

Who cares about 3 stoners hitching a ride? How about all the illegals. How about all the bad drivers that nearly kill us each day? What about all the illegal conversions with backyards and balconies filled with flammable junk? Who cares if people smoke a little dope?

Anonymous said...

if they had all that money, why didn't they catch a taxi?

that's why you shouldn't smoke that stuff.

maybe they didn't want to pay an Al Aqueda supporter illegal alien car service driver? They could have taken the bus.

how do we know that the cops aren't the dealers?

Anony2 said...

Right on FlooshingRezident!

Meanwhile I've called the 111 about 5 times in 3 months regarding the hoods on my corner blantly selling weed 24/7.
I don't mention what they are doing, just the amount of traffic and the noise. (I don't care that they sell, but stop blocking the corner and keep the noise down at 3 AM!) It's starting to look like an episode of The Wire over here!

I'm still waiting for the cops to show up. The desk officer who answers the phone has actually said "What do you want the police to do about it?"

Anonymous said...

Meanwhile I've called the 111 about 5 times in 3 months regarding the hoods on my corner blantly selling weed 24/7.
--

How about dealers on your stoop?

The 'Fighing 114' is MIA.

I'd call Peter 'Mr Public Safety' Vallone, but it seems like he is spending his time going to zoning meetings.

Besides, who needs to fund cops when the really important work for the really important people is done by City Planning?

No funding cuts there! Want to put in a very big building? As they say on Wow Wow Wobsy, 'No Problemo'!

They are Johnny-On-The-Spot!

Anonymous said...

im sure these 3 were white kids, given a break by the cops and judge. "nice college kids from good homes". and you worry about illegal day laborers.

Anonymous said...

im sure these 3 were white kids, given a break by the cops and judge. "nice college kids from good homes". and you worry about illegal day laborers.

Anonymous said...

Moron,the cops didn't give the break,the judge did,learn to read.And for everyone that calls the local precinct,you are wasting your time.Use 911/311 and your call os logged into the system.

Anonymous said...

moron, the cops are the ones who made the arrest and they do know how to make things look less serious than it is. i know this from experience .

Anonymous said...

After charging them with a felony,the Judge let them go.Please explain how the cops downgraded a D felony.The ada makes the final decision on the charge.Thess guys obviosly had just made a large delivery. the cash and weed was their payment.Notice how they only had 25 grams,3 grams under the threshold for the next highest charge.At least if they don't return,they lose their cash.......and get a warrant.