In Lyndhurst police are searching for a man who skipped out on a $110 taxi fare led police to discover a large stash of drugs at a township apartment early Monday, authorities said.
Officers responded around 1:20 a.m. to a report from the cabbie, who told police his passenger fled without paying after a trip from Queens, New York, to Valley Brook Avenue, Capt. John Valente said. The passenger, Jonathan Rodriguez, 31, of Elmhurst, New York, ran toward a nearby apartment complex.
Officers tracked foot prints in the snow to the apartment, where another man answered the door and allowed police inside to search for Rodriguez, the captain said in email.
Police saw “a large assortment” of drugs and paraphernalia in plain view on table tops, counters and elsewhere, Valente added.
“The suspect who had fled the taxi on Valley Brook Avenue was subsequently found hiding in the apartment and was taken into custody without further incident,” Valente said.
Detectives obtained a search warrant for the rest of the condo and later charged Rodriguez and the tenant, Andrew Lee, 24, with drug possession and distribution offenses, authorities said. Police found marijuana, alprazolam and Psilocybin mushrooms.
Lee was charged with possession of brass knuckles and hollow-point .45 caliber and 9mm bullets, according to police. Rodriguez also faces a theft of services charge over the cab fare.
Authorities said Lee was held at the Bergen County Jail on $110,000 bail while bail for Rodriguez was set at $100,000, both with no 10 percent option.
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