Newark Man Allegedly Arrives for Jail with Pot in His Underpants

Charles Wooten was already facing two narcotics charges when he turned himself in Thursday at Veterans Courthouse in Newark.

Following a routine search by an Essex County Sheriff’s officer, he now faces one more.

The 22-year-old city resident allegedly tried to smuggle more than 20 bags of marijuana into the Essex County jail -- by hiding the drugs in his underwear. Officer Robert Bailey discovered the pot, the sheriff’s office said.

Authorities believe Wooten was planning on using the drug during his stint behind bars.

“We can only surmise that Wooten had ingested a sufficient quantity of the marijuana which impacted his judgment and decision making processes before coming to the courthouse to surrender himself to us,” said Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura.  “He must have thought he would be sentenced to six months on the original charges and this supply of marijuana would have tidied him over during that period.”

“This incident gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘reefer madness’”, Fontoura added.