Two New Yorkers Spend a Week Behind Bars for Candy that Looked Like Crack
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Photo Credit: Funky64
Pair spends a week behind bars after police find a bag of candy – and think they’ve found crack cocaine.
Jose Pena, 48, and Cesar Rodriguez, 33, stopped off at a bodega on the way to a party on the night of Jan 15th, to pick up a few odds and ends. On their way back to the car, police swarmed and asked to search the vehicle, a request that was granted by Rodriguez, who said that he had nothing to hide.
The officers soon emerged from the minivan triumphantly holding a ziplock bag filled with a white substance, and the pair was arrested for drug possession.
Unfortunately, what looked like crack cocaine was actually a 50 cent snack called CoCo candy that Rodriguez bought daily, and kept in a sandwich bag to help manage mess from the crumbly treat.
Rodriguez told the cops that the bag was full of candy and pleaded with them to taste it, to no avail.
After 5 days behind bars, the ‘drugs’ were tested and after that, the two friends quickly released.
Neal Wallerstein, a lawyer representing the men said the mix up could easily been avoided, saying, "That’s the reason why they have a field-test kit."
