Note to drug users: Be careful how you label people on your caller ID.
An Annapolis man was arrested Monday for drug possession after he called another man who was being arrested, city police said.
It started out as a simple traffic stop. At about 10:30 p.m., an officer on patrol pulled over a car on Church Circle near Duke of Gloucester Street for failing to stop at the red light, police said.
The driver was identified as Joshua S. Greene, 22, of Glencoe. Mr. Greene told police he did not have his license with him, but a check through MVA records showed that his license was suspended, according to a police report.
While police were arresting Mr. Greene, his cell phone rang, and the caller ID said it was "Zack the Weed Man" calling.
Officers asked Mr. Greene if he was planning to meet Zack to buy drugs and he told them no. One officer called "Zack the Weed Man" back and confirmed the meeting place at the gas station near his Morris Street home, police said.
The officer took Mr. Greene with him and went to the gas station, where they found 19-year-old Zachary J. Mazzola.
Mr. Mazzola told police he had about 3 grams of marijuana in his pocket and that he was planning to smoke it with Mr. Greene, police said.
Mr. Greene was charged with failing to stop at the red light and driving on a suspended license and Mr. Mazzola was charged with drug possession, police said.
Officer Hal Dalton, a city Police Department spokesman, called the drug arrest "pure luck."
"I guess people who are involved in illegal activities don't think of such things, but you never know who might be around (when your cell phone rings). It's kind of a risk that goes with the territory," he said.
If it hadn't been for the phone call, and the way the caller ID was labeled, the officer likely wouldn't have known about the drug activity, he added.
"When you have him labeled 'the weed man,' that raises suspicions right there," Officer Dalton said.
It's the only time he can think of that caller ID has led directly to an arrest. But sometimes someone calling an arrested person leads to another arrest.
In February, while police were arresting a man on suspicion of drug dealing, a potential buyer called to set up a meeting, according to reports.
The officer processing the man's belongings answered the phone and set up a fake deal, and then arrested the caller at the meeting place, police said.
