We often hear about how slow the wheels of justice turn. That may be true at times, like when a case actually gets to court. But things can move very fast in the early stages of a criminal matter, as a Danbury man may be finding out. What started with a traffic stop has escalated swiftly into criminal drug charges.

The 23-year-old man was picked up early yesterday in Westchester County. Officials say he was pulled over for an undisclosed violation. They claim they subsequently discovered that the man was driving without a license and that there were summonses for failure to pay fines outstanding against him. So, they arrested him.

Once police had the man's vehicle in impound, they searched it. They allege that they found hundreds of prescription pain pills, mostly oxycodone, hidden in parts of the SUV. Authorities estimated the street value of the drugs at about $15,000.

Not long after that, officials amended the charges against the suspect. He is now charged with felony third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance with intent to sell. That's on top of a misdemeanor charge of aggravated unlicensed operation of a vehicle. He was due to be arraigned yesterday in New Rochelle.

It's interesting to note that the news report of this arrest carried a disclaimer that said the information provided represents only that which was provided by authorities and that persons charged with crimes deserve their right to be presumed innocent. That's a good thing for us all to remember.

Source: Danbury Patch, "Danbury Man Charged in New York (Oxycodone)," Michael Woyton, Jan. 18, 2012