University of Maryland Police arrested two people after officers stopped a stolen car and found marijuana, synthetic marijuana and pills hidden in a bag under a seat.
License plate scanners alerted police when a red Chevy Malibu registered to Frederick County entered the campus near Xfinity Center.
Sgt. J. Brown, who was one of the first officers on the scene, said seven cops stopped the car across from Fraternity Row after it exited the campus’s main entrance.
Traffic stopped on Route 1 as at least one officer with a raised gun yelled for the five people inside the car to put their hands up and exit the vehicle. Brown said the arrests were made easily, but it took several minutes to clear the car.
“In order for someone inside a car in traffic lanes to be able to hear, you end up yelling a lot,” he said.
Guns were drawn out of “an abundance of caution,” said University Police spokeswoman Sgt. Rosanne Hoaas said. Hoaas and Brown said the nature of the traffic stop made the situation potentially dangerous for the officers involved.
“The stolen car, the high number of occupants in the car, the tint that you can’t see through the car — it makes it more of a high-risk situation,” Brown said.
Brown described the amount of drugs found as “enough.”
