MANAHAWKIN – Two people were charged following a motor vehicle stop conducted by the Stafford Township Police Department’s Drug Enforcement Unit in a Route 72 parking lot, authorities said.
Police said officers stopped a vehicle around 12:30 p.m. January 24 in the Atlantic Care parking lot at 517 Route 72. The driver, 44-year-old Ryan S. Bannon of Ocean Grove, was taken into custody after police discovered an active no-bail warrant issued by Monmouth County Superior Court.
During the stop, detectives developed suspicion that drugs were inside the vehicle. A narcotics-detection dog was brought to the scene and gave a positive alert for the odor of controlled substances, according to police. The vehicle was seized while officers sought a search warrant. The front-seat passenger, 37-year-old Katherine M. Smith of Brick, was released at the scene.
Later that afternoon, investigators obtained a court-authorized search warrant and searched the vehicle. Police said the search turned up a quantity of suspected crack cocaine.
Smith was later charged on a complaint warrant with third-degree possession of crack cocaine after allegedly failing to turn herself in, police said.
Bannon was charged with third-degree possession of crack cocaine and processed at police headquarters before being transported to the Ocean County Jail, where he is being held pending a detention hearing in Superior Court.
