Traffic stop in Cambridge yields a pound of marijuana

By Sarah N. Mattero, Globe Correspondent

A routine traffic stop in Cambridge landed a Boston man in trouble after police found a pound of marijuana and more than $1,000 cash in the vehicle he was riding in, police said.

Thomas Stoner, 31, of Boston was arrested Monday for possession with intent to distribute a Class D substance, subsequent offense, Cambridge police said.

Cambridge Police Officer Brendan Pasco stopped the vehicle on Massachusetts Avenue around 5 p.m. Monday and immediately detected the scent of unburnt marijuana coming from the vehicle, the officer wrote in a report. After Pasco asked the men if they had any marijuana in the vehicle, the driver, Christopher D. Jackson, 30, of Mattapan, handed the officer a small, odorless roach from his ashtray, the report said.

Asked again, Jackson told officers he wasn’t sure what they were talking about, the report said.

Pasco and another officer had stepped to the rear of the car, waiting for information on Jackson’s license, when they saw the two men making “sudden movements,” the report said. Pasco, who said he feared for his safety, then ordered Jackson and Stoner to exit the vehicle so a search could be performed.

Pasco discovered a black bag on the floor of the passenger seat that contained a large clear plastic bag containing what the officer suspected to be marijuana as well as business cards with Stoner’s name on them. A small red scale was also found next to the bag.

Officers also seized $1,280 in cash inside Stoner’s pants pocket.

Stoner was released on $3,000 cash bail after pleading not guilty at his arraignment in Cambridge District Court on Tuesday. A judge set a pretrial hearing for Nov. 27.

Jackson, who was arrested for operating with a suspended license, had his case dismissed after payment of court costs.