Long Beach police: Man arrested with 13 pounds of marijuana

Police found more than 13 pounds of marijuana and other drugs in an Island Park man’s vehicle during a seat belt check operation in Long Beach on Friday morning, officials said.

Long Beach Police Officer Joseph Wiemann was enforcing the seat belt law under a state grant-funded program on Park Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard when he saw a driver not wearing a seat belt, police said in a news release.

The officer approached the car and saw the driver, Jason Kleinmann, was packing marijuana into a pipe, police said. Wiemann confiscated the pipe and instructed Kleinmann to pull over around the block; the motorist tried to flee, but two officers were able to stop him, police said.

Sgt. Lee Nielsen conducted evaluation of Kleinmann and determined that he was driving while impaired, police said. Kleinmann was then placed under arrest for driving under the influence of drugs, police said.

His vehicle was impounded and searched at Long Beach police headquarters, where police found the stash of more than 13 pounds of marijuana in a large black garbage bag, along with “numerous” oxycodone pills and marijuana edibles, the release said.

In addition to the impaired driving charge, Kleinmann faces charges of first-degree criminal possession of marijuana; fifth-degree criminal possession of marijuana; unlawful possession of marijuana; and seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, police said.

Information for Kleinmann’s attorney or on his arraignment was not immediately available Saturday afternoon.