Crime & Safety

Bernards Taxi Cab Cocaine User Gets Seven Years

His 'extensive criminal history' got Ismael Rodriguez, 35, of Passaic, a seven-year sentence for a 2012 cocaine possession charge and trying to elude apprehension.

Ismael Rodriguez, who was convicted Oct. 3 of possessing cocaine in a Bernards Township taxicab and hindering his own apprehension, was sentenced last week to seven years in state prison.

The 35-year-old Passaic resident received the sentence in Somerville from Superior Court Judge Robert Reed, NJ.com reported, who gave the man the harsh sentence based upon his "extensive criminal history." Rodriguez had been previously convicted of unrelated theft, robbery and drug offenses, the NJ.com report said.

Rodriguez was arrested in June, 2012, after police, who had set up a surveillance area near Commonwealth Drive, found the man in the taxicab's back seat, trying to stomp the cocaine with his feet in an effort to get rid of it.

Rodriguez will be eligible for parole in three years, and has already received 18 months' credit for time served, NJ.com said in its report.


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