Driver Shows Up to Court on Drug Charge, Gets Arrested Again

A Bernards Township resident showed up to court on a drug charge. She left arrested on a charge of receiving stolen property.

On Aug. 1 at 5:47 pm, Bernards Township Officer Slawomir Zolnierowski observed a 2001 Ford Mustang operating its windshield wipers without having the headlights activated, and noticed the driver and passenger were not wearing seatbelts, according to a report by police Zolnierowski stopped the vehicle after the driver entered Rt. 287 South from Mt. Airy Road.

Upon approaching the vehicle, Zolnierowski detected the odor of burnt marijuana, police said. Zolnierowski questioned the passenger, Heather Bolink, a 29-year old female from Bernardsville, who admitted there was marijuana in the vehicle, police said. Bolink retrieved the marijuana and a glass marijuana pipe from the glove box, police said.

Bolink was arrested, transported to headquarters, processed and released. She was charged with possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to wear a seatbelt. The driver, a male juvenile, was issued a summons for allegedly operating a motor vehicle with no headlights on while windshield wipers are activated, and failure to wear a seat belt.

When Bolink appeared in court on the drug, charges Aug. 10, she was also arrested in connection with a June 14 motor vehicle burglary at the Lyons Train station.  Taken at that time from the vehicle, a 2006 Volkswagen, was a GPS unit.

Detective Mike Sweeney conducted a follow-up investigation. As a result Sweeney was able to identify Bolink as an individual who sold the stolen GPS unit to a pawnshop, police said. Police did not clarify in their report how Sweeney connected Bolink to the sale.

When Bolink was taken into custody during the Aug. 10 court appearance, a juvenile Basking Ridge resident and associate of hers (who was also in municipal court) admitted to taking the GPS unit and was charged with burglary / theft, police said.

Bolink was taken to headquarters, charged with receiving stolen property, processed and released. Charges are pending for the juvenile.