HollyMatkinNorthport, NY – A woman who wanted to get high before her court appearance on Monday chose the worst possible place to do it.
Police said Huntington resident Arielle Bonnici, 26, was on her way to Northport Village Court to answer a summons for illegal marijuana possession on Dec. 4.
As she drove her 2001 Jeep into the rear parking lot of the building that houses both the Village Justice Court and the Northport Police Department, Bonnici “cut off” a police officer who was driving an unmarked police car, the Northport Police Department said in a press release.
The officer also noticed that Bonnici was unlawfully talking on her cell phone as she drove.
A seemingly oblivious Bonnici proceeded to drive into an area of the parking lot clearly marked for use only by police vehicles, and parked her Jeep in the Northport Chief of Police’s reserved parking spot.
“When the officers approached her car … she rolled down her window and they were met with a cloud of marijuana smoke,” police said in the press release.
Newsday reported that Northport Police Chief Bill Ricca said “… it was like Cheech and Chong, all the smoke coming out of the car,” referring to the counterculture comedy duo Richard “Cheech” Marin and Tommy Chong, who were known for smoking enormous marijuana joints as part of their act.
Officers said they also observed marijuana and a pipe in Bonnici’s vehicle, but they didn’t arrest her.
Instead, officers opted to cite her for using her cell phone while driving, and added a second count of unlawful possession of marijuana to her list of matters to discuss with the court.
Bonnici then proceeded into the courtroom, where she was arraigned for her new offenses and answered to her first marijuana charge.
“People don’t believe you when you tell them things that happen on the job,” Chief Ricca said. “But, seriously, you can’t make it up.”
Bonnici’s next court appearance on both marijuana charges is scheduled for Jan. 29, 2018. She was charged with the first marijuana possession offense on May 11, police said.