WESTFIELD – A Springfield man was arrested for selling marijuana before the Fireworks for Freedom show in Stanley Park Sunday night.
Shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday night, 20-year-old Tristen D. Pearson was arrested on charges of distributing a Class D drug, and police also found that Pearson had an outstanding warrant out of Springfield District Court from June 23.
The warrant was for charges of resisting arrest and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle from a May 16 arrest, according to information obtained from Westfield District Court staff.
Westfield Police Officer Christopher Coach, who was assigned to patrol Stanley Park during the fireworks, was alerted by Westfield Police Cadet Alvarado of a drug transaction, according to court records.
Alvarado told Coach that he, “observed him (Pearson) make a hand-to-hand transaction with another male. He stated that he was so close that he could even smell the odor of marijuana,” Coach wrote in his statement of facts.
When Coach approached Pearson, he “could smell the odor of fresh marijuana,” he wrote.
Coach checked Pearson and found a bag of marijuana (a sandwich bag full of marijuana buds) in the defendant’s left front pocket and found nine $20 bills and one $5 folded in his right front pocket, “which is common for people selling marijuana,” according to court records.
“The event was a family event inside a park with thousands of people,” Coach wrote.
Massachusetts has a law that states if drug transactions are committed within 100 feet of a public park that the offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of two years of incarceration, according to NORML.org, an organization whose mission in part is “to move public opinion sufficiently to legalize the responsible use of marijuana by adults.”
Westfield Police Capt. Michael McCabe said that Massachusetts General Law is in flux with narcotics investigations and minimum sentences.
The intent of the statute of prohibition within parks was meant to protect children, said McCabe.
In general, possessing less than 50 pounds (first offense) with intent to distribute may be punishable by up to two years of incarceration and/or up to a $5,000 fine, according to NORML.org.
Police did not say how much marijuana Pearson possessed.
Westfield Police Capt. Hipolito Nunez said, “it doesn’t matter how much you have if you are charged with intent to distribute.”
It is not illegal to possess less than one ounce of marijuana–“it is not an arrest-able offense,” McCabe said.
One ounce or less of marijuana for personal use is considered a civil offense with a maximum fine of $100 for those 18 years of age or older, according to McCabe and NORML.org.
If a person is fined for possession and doesn’t pay the fine, the defendant could be arrested, which would be a charge of obstruction of justice for not paying the fine, McCabe added.
Pearson was released on his personal recognizance at his arraignment in Westfield District Court on Monday and will return to court on September 2 for a pretrial hearing.
District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni’s office did not respond to requests for information.
Staff Writer Christine Charnosky can be reached at [email protected]
