There are several unwritten rules in the Official Book of Getting Stoned in Pubic and one of them is: It’s not wise to smoke pot in a police chief’s parking space. It’s really that simple. Don’t be a raging idiot out there in the wild, wild world of purgatorial prohibition, and you’ll probably escape this life without any unwanted run-ins with the law.
But for those hardcore marijuana enthusiasts who rebel against it all, even common sense, this kind of misstep could come, at the bare minimum, with a hefty load of embarrassment and, depending on what neck of the woods you hang your hat, quite possibly even legal consequences.
We know what you’re thinking… no one in the cannabis community is stupid enough to actually smoke weed in front of a cop shop. Well, they are, and they did.
But don’t take our word for it. Just ask 26-year-old New York resident Arielle Bonnici. She recently got into a bit of a hairy mess with the Northport Police Department after deciding to get one hell of a hotbox going while in the local police chief’s personal parking space.
It seems that Bonnici was scheduled to make an appearance at the Northport Village Justice Court earlier last week to answer a summons she received over the summer for marijuana possession. No big deal. All she had to do was go before a judge and answer to the civil infraction, agree to pay a fine and then get on with the rest of her day.
But she didn’t even make it inside the courthouse before encountering a snag.
According to a report from Newsday, Bonnici was in such a hurry to discuss her high crimes with the local judge that she cut off a couple of cops in an unmarked patrol car near the courthouse. She was apparently jabbering like a lunatic on her cell phone at the time, which is perhaps what prompted her to drive her Jeep into a parking space marked “Police Vehicles Only.”
It was at this point when the officers just sort of stared at each other in disbelief. Not only did Bonnici almost sideswipe their patrol car while trying to find an appropriate place to park, but when she found one, it was in the spot designated exclusively for Northport Police Chief Bill Ricca.
This is when the officers found it necessary to approach the vehicle to find out exactly what the deal was with Bonnici. Was she just high, or blatantly flexing those scofflaw muscles?
You guessed it… she was high.
Common Sense 101: It’s Not Wise To Smoke Pot In A Police Chief’s Parking Space
The officers tapped on Bonnici’s driver side window in an attempt to get her attention. The report indicates that the officers were already about 80 percent sure that she was smoking a joint before ever making contact. They could see a huge cloud of smoke wafting around in the Jeep just waiting for the first crack of glass to make an escape.
When Bonnici finally realized that a couple of cops were trying to talk to her, she rolled her window down, releasing the cloud of smoke into their faces.
It was a scene straight out of a stoner flick, said Northport Police Chief Ricca.
“When she did, it was like Cheech and Chong, all the smoke coming out of the car,” he told the news source. “Yes, it was marijuana.”
Fortunately, Bonnici did not catch too much heat for this indiscretion.
The cops issued her another citation for marijuana possession and one for driving like a dumbass while using a cell phone. She now must answer to both charges of unlawful pot possession at the end of January.
It’s not likely that she will do any jail time. But she will have to cough up a few hundred bucks to cover fines.
As crazy as it sounds, this situation could have always turned out worse than it did (although trust us, it’s not wise to smoke pot in a police chief’s parking space). She could have been caught getting high in the judge’s spot.