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Crime & Safety

CHP Pulls Over Truck for Speeding, Finds Speed

A Novato man was pulled over for driving too fast, and a search of his vehicle uncovered drugs and paraphernalia that led to methamphetamine and weapons charges.

On Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 21 at about 3:00 p.m., a CHP officer operating a handheld LIDAR device was monitoring traffic for speed violations on US-101 northbound at De Long Avenue. He observed a 2007 GMC Sierra pickup that he determined to be traveling 75 miles per hour in a 55 mile per hour construction zone.

The officer stopped the vehicle at the Atherton Avenue off ramp, and found the driver, 37-year-old Patrick McClelland of Novato, was acting nervously and was unable to locate his identification.

While McClelland was searching for his ID in a backpack,  the officer detected the odor of marijuana and initiated a “probable cause” search of the vehicle.  He discovered a digital scale, approximately one half ounce of suspected methamphetamine, and a methamphetamine smoking pipe. Additionally, the officer found a collapsible baton near the driver’s side door handle of the GMC.

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McClelland was placed under arrest and booked into Marin County Jail for suspicion of Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine for Sale, Transportation of Methamphetamine, Possession of a Methamphetamine Smoking Device, and Possession of a Prohibited Weapon (the baton).

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