BEDFORD – A Bedford man was arrested after a Bedford Police officer stopped his vehicle on Sunday, December 3 for having a false or fictitious registration.
Officer Sarah Haluda noticed the red Jeep Grand Cherokee while on patrol in the area of John Williams Boulevard and State Road 37. She stopped the driver at the intersection of State Road 37 and 16th Street. The vehicle registration returned to a Ford SUV.
The officer recognized the driver as 28-year-old Cody Tapp, of Springville, from past encounters.
Tapp acknowledged that the registration belonged to another vehicle and struggled to find his driver’s license. He had no documentation on the Jeep.
Officer Haluda asked permission to search the vehicle and Tapp admitted there was a “bowl” and “grinder” in the Jeep but was unsure where those items were located.
Officers searched the Jeep, while Tapp argued with officers regarding his ability to smoke marijuana and operate a vehicle. Police say Tapp became verbally aggressive with officers.
Tapp admitted to smoking marijuana earlier in the day.
Police located the smoking device in the glove box and a metal grinder containing marijuana in the rear of the vehicle.
Mikel’s Towing and Recovery Inc. was requested to tow the vehicle.
Tapp was detained and continued to protest that he had 45 days to register the vehicle and continued to argue with officers. He was asked several times to calm down.
Officers learned the Jeep was last registered in 2021.
Tapp was transported to the Bedford Police Department where he failed several field sobriety tests. At one point Tapp became so emotional that he requested to discontinue testing to compose himself. The officer discontinued the OWI investigation after speaking with Tapp at length about his anxiety condition.
Tapp was arrested on charges of possession of marijuana with a prior conviction and driving while his driver’s license was suspended with a prior conviction.
