$2 bill leads to heroin bust in Mendham

A discarded cigarette butt and a rolled-up $2 bill led to a drug arrest Tuesday in Mendham Township, according to a police report.

According to the report, Sgt. Matthew Ambrosi was on routine patrol, traveling westbound on Route 24 about 9:30 p.m., when he observed a driver throw a lit cigarette out of a window.

After stopping the vehicle and contacting the driver, Michelle Lehner, 23, of Summit, Ambrosi reported observing a rolled-up $2 bill next to her with white residue on it. The driver and passenger, Marc Cooper, 24, of Mountain Lakes, were asked to step out of the vehicle. Prior to doing so, Lehner made an attempt to hide the bill, according to Ambrosi, who later located the bill in a cigarette pack containing heroin.

A subsequent search, with the assistance of the assisted by Morris County Sheriff’s K-9 unit, yielded approximately 47 folds of heroin in the vehicle. Similar used folds were found as well.

Both occupants of the vehicle were charged with possession of a Schedule 1 controlled dangerous substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. Lehner also received summonses for failure to maintain lane, throwing debris from a vehicle and possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle. Both given court dates of Jan. 27 in Morristown Superior Court.