By Jim Clark

A Somerville police officer was dispatched to the Holiday Inn at 30 Washington Street last week for a check condition call.

Upon arrival, the officer spotted the reported vehicle in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn. The subject of the call, Abner Puig, was sitting in the driver’s seat and another individual was sitting in the rear passenger seat.

The officer noted that the vehicle was turned off and the keys were not in the ignition.

The officer told Puig that he had received a call stating that he was under the influence of Xanax and had been operating the vehicle recklessly. Due to the nature of the call, the officer asked Puig to step out of the car so he could talk to him.

Puig was asked what he was doing in the parking lot and he reportedly told the officer that he was currently homeless and was living out of his car. He also denied being under the influence of Xanax, but did say that he had smoked marijuana a couple hours before the officer’s arrival.

Puig was examined by EMTs, but subsequently refused any medical attention.

While Puig was speaking to the EMT personnel, a woman arrived on scene and stated that she had been charging her phone inside the Holiday Inn. According to police reports, she seemed very distraught and said loudly that Puig was fine and was not under the influence of anything. She then said quietly that she didn’t want Puig to know that she called 911.

The woman was taken out of sight from Puig and she reportedly told the officer that they had been driving in the car earlier and that Puig was swerving all over the road. She said Puig had taken Xanax and she was worried about him driving again. She also said that she had seen a large amount of Xanax in a plastic baggie in the glove compartment of his car.

The officer then asked Puig if he had anything illegal in his vehicle and he said he had a bag of marijuana that he had obtained from a dispensary.

The officer asked Puig if he could search his vehicle and he reportedly consented. During the initial search, the officer located the bag of Marijuana under the front passenger seat. He also searched the glove compartment but was unable to find anything illegal.

The officer then went back to the woman and told her that he was unable to find the bag of Xanax that she had mentioned. She then told him that they were located in an opening above the glove box. She said that he would have to “move the napkins” located in the glove box and reach up inside. The officer did as she instructed and was able to locate a knotted plastic bag containing multiple yellow rectangular shaped pills bearing the inscription R039. Due to the officer’s training and experience, he was able to recognize these pills as generic Xanax. He then showed Puig what he had found and he stated that they were not his and that he had loaned his car out to six or seven people recently.

Puig was then placed under arrest and charged with possession of a class E drug and transported to the station in the prisoner transport wagon, where he was booked in the usual manner.