Police: Driver of Car Striking Curb Had Pot, Pills, Heroin

When an officer stopped a 21-year-old driver on Mansfield Avenue early Saturday morning for erratic driving, the man said he'd been smoking marijuana, and then police found that and other illegal substances in the car, according to police reports.

Darien police gave this description of the incident and arrest:

At about 1:50 a.m. Saturday, Alejandro Ferrand of New Canaan was driving a 2008 Subaru Imprezza north on Mansfield Avenue near Sedgwick Avenue when the officer noticed the driver's erratic operation of the car.

As the Subaru approached the stop sign at the intersection of Mansfield and Sedgwick (see attached map), a police officer saw it strike the curb. When the car continued north, it struck the curb again and the officer stopped the vehice.

Ferrand was asked why he was driving so erratically, and he replied that he had smoked marijuana earlier that night at a friend’s house.

Police described him as seeming to be confused, having red and glassy eyes, and the pupils of his eyes were constricted. He turned over to police a marijuana grinder that contained a small amount of a substance that a field test showed was marijuana.

On the front passenger seat of the car, police found a pill bottle containing three wax paper folds that police determined held heroin. In the center console, officers found 15 blue pills they identified as Adderall, a prescription medication that was not held in a proper container.

Ferrand, of Valley Road in New Canaan, failed field sobriety tests and was arrested.

He was charged with driving while under the influence, possession of narcotis, illegal storage of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of less than ½ ounce of marijuana. Ferrand posted a $1,000 bond pending his appearance March 19 in state Superior Court in Stamford.