NEWARK

— A Newark man who had been beaten up and robbed of marijuana reported the incident to sheriff's detective and then later dropped a bag of pot he didn't realize he still had on him, according to a release from the Essex County Sheriff's Department.

The incident marks the second time in three weeks, that men have interacted with sheriff's officers with marijuana in their possession.

On Thursday around 4:15 p.m. sheriff detectives stationed at headquarters on Clifton Avenue heard screaming coming from outside.

The man yelling for help, 43-year-old Claiston Smith, of Columbia Avenue, was bleeding from the mouth and suffered from multiple abrasions, bumps and bruises about his head. He told police he had just been beaten and robbed by three young males, according to the release.

Sheriff Armando Fontoura said officers immediately called EMS to get the man medical treatment and the area was canvassed for suspects.

While waiting for EMS, officers asked Smith what was stolen. "There was no weapons involved, just hands," Smith told the sheriff's detectives according to the release, "and they took 30 dime bags of weed." The street value of is about $300.

When EMS arrived at headquarters and Smith removed his jacket to have his blood pressure checked, a bag of marijuana, apparently missed by the assailants, dropped to the floor.

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"This is the second time in two weeks that people have come to us for assistance while carrying drugs," said Fontoura.

On Feb. 28 a man came to the courthouse to turn himself in on an open criminal warrant. He had 22 bags of marijuana in his underwear.

"What they say about the excessive use of marijuana causing memory loss is apparently true," Fontoura said.

Smith was issued a disorderly persons summons for possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana and released. The charge will be heard in Newark municipal court at a later date.