Two cited after Tamaqua stop

Two men received citations after a traffic stop in Tamaqua on March 30.

An officer on patrol at 7:03 p.m. saw a red Dodge make a turn into the Boyer's Food Mart parking lot without using a turn signal. The officer stopped and spoke with the driver, who was identified as Michael Sperlbaum, 30, of 108 W. Broad St., Tamaqua. A front-seat passenger, later identified as Robert Reeves, 33, of Pottsville, exited the car and went into the store.

Sperlbaum provided the car registration and insurance cards but admitted he did not have a valid driver's license, as it had been suspended. He gave the officer permission to search his person and the vehicle. When Reeves came back to the car he also consented to being searched.

Reeves was found to have a small, plastic, cut straw on his person. He was given a nontraffic citation.

Inside the car, hidden under a black hoodie on the rear driver's side floor, officers found a mason jar filled with green vegetable matter, suspected to be marijuana. Sperlbaum admitted the weed was his and was cited for possession of marijuana, driving with a suspended license and failure to use a turn signal.