NEWARK

— Charles Wooten showed up at the Essex County Sheriff's Office today to surrender on two open drug warrants.

But when officers conducted a routine search of the Newark man, they found 22 bags of marijuana hidden in his underwear, leading to a third drug charge, authorities said.

Sheriff Armando Fontoura suggested the 22-year-old Wooten may have used some of his own product before meeting with the detectives.

“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,” he said. “He must have thought he would be sentenced to six months on the original charges and this supply of marijuana would have tided him over during that period. This incident gives a whole new meaning to the term ‘reefer madness.’”

Wooten now faces three separate charges for drug possession and distribution, and remains at the Essex County Correctional Facility.

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