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Wheaton College student arrested with duffel bag full of marijuana in Norton held on bail

Wheaton College student arrested with duffel bag full of marijuana in Norton held on bail

NORTON — A Wheaton College student, arrested with what police say was a duffel bag stuffed with suspected narcotics after driving a car too close behind a police cruiser with his high beams on, was sent to jail on $25,000 cash bail Friday.

Jedediah Daniel, 20, pleaded innocent in Attleboro District Court to trafficking cocaine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, hallucinogenic mushrooms and Ecstasy.

In addition to over five pounds of suspected marijuana and smaller amounts of the other alleged drugs, police said Friday they obtained a search warrant and recovered $6,000 cash from a locked safe in Daniel’s car.

Police said they found a scale with drug residue on it and that the alleged drugs were packaged for sale. However, police had no estimate of the street value of the alleged narcotics.

The political science and English major from Shohola, Pa., a small town in northeast Pennsylvania, now faces the prospect of being kicked out of college and going to prison for up to 15 years, according to lawyer’s statements during a bail hearing.

Daniel, who has no prior criminal record, appeared without emotion as he listened to a prosecutor recite the details of his arrest in court.

Assistant District Attorney Megan Burns requested $50,000 cash bail, noting the hefty penalties Daniel faces if convicted and his lack of ties to the area. She said Wheaton College has filed a notice of suspension following Daniel’s arrest.

Linda Anne Ruggieri, a lawyer who represented Daniel for the bail hearing, said Daniel has a 3.3 grade point average and would not flee the state if he was released. She said he has a girlfriend at the University of Massachusetts at Amhert he planned to live with.

Police say Daniel was arrested around 11:30 p.m. Thursday on Mansfield Avenue (Route 140) after following within a car length behind Patrolman Bryan King’s cruiser with his high beams on. King pulled over and stopped Daniel’s car.

When King approached the car, police Lt. Todd Jackson said, he saw Daniel spraying an aerosol can and reaching for an open duffel bag. Inside the duffel bag, police say they recovered the alleged marijuana and other drugs packaged in plastic bags.

Burns said field tests of two bags containing over 30 grams of white powder indicated it was cocaine. Trafficking in that amount of cocaine carries a maximum of 15 years in prison, if convicted, according to the prosecutor.

Police say Daniel made no statements during his arrest and asked for a lawyer, according to a police report.

Daniel is due back in court Monday to determine whether he is eligible for a court-appointed attorney.

credit:thesunchronicle.com