N.J. Responders Arrested in Ambulance for Pot Possession

NORTH PLAINFIELD -- Two North Plainfield Rescue Squad members were charged with drug possession after taking their ambulance on a detour through neighboring Plainfield early Wednesday morning, Plainfield police director Martin Hellwig said.

At 12:34 a.m., a person on Brokaw Boulevard near Richard Street called 911 to report potential drug activity going on in the ambulance, Hellwig said.

"That ambulance was seen at that location. It wasn't the first time," Hellwig said.

Police caught up with the ambulance about four blocks away at Clinton Avenue and West Front Street, Hellwig said.

The two volunteer rescue squad members, Yanis Laureano, 23, and Dennis Lopes, 19, both of Plainfield, were charged with possessing less than 50 grams of marijuana, Hellwig said. The ambulance was not responding to a call at the time, but both men were on call, Hellwig said.

The North Plainfield Rescue Squad provides free ambulance services to the borough and neighboring towns. It operates with some funding from the borough and donations from the community.

Bail was set for each man at $2,500, Hellwig said. The Union County Jail had no information about them Wednesday afternoon. A phone number listed for Laureano at the address both men shared was disconnected.

Lopes is listed as a captain and Laureano is listed as a second lieutenant on the all-volunteer squad's website. Both have been relieved of their duties and have been asked to resign, squad president Stephen Phillips said.

Phillips met briefly Wednesday with North Plainfield Mayor Michael Giordano about the incident, and the 30-member squad is working on a plan to keep up and running without the two, he said.

"I hate to see this reflection of our squad," he said. "It's two individuals who made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes." North Plainfield police chief William Parenti said Lopes had been a parking enforcement officer for the borough but resigned from that post about a month ago.

Local News Service reporter Kristine Snodgrass contributed to this story.