Claudio Alberto Seda, 36, of Upper Darby.
Montgomery Township Police have announced the arrest of 36-year-old Claudio Alberto Seda, in connection with an early-morning traffic stop that occurred on Bethlehem Pike on Feb. 19.
According to the criminal complaint, police were patrolling southbound on Bethlehem Pike near the intersection with Horsham Road at 1:42 a.m. when they observed a Volkswagen Jetta driving with a faulty headlight. The report states that as police trailed the vehicle, they could smell marijuana emanating from the Volkswagen in front of them. Police then initiated a traffic stop along Bethlehem Pike near the intersection with Fox Meadow Drive.
The report states that as police approached the vehicle, the odor of marijuana became stronger. Police said that after making contact with the driver, they confirmed the smell was emanating from the vehicle, and could see marijuana in plain view on the lap of the passenger—identified as Claudio Seda, 22, of Upper Darby.
As police searched the vehicle, Seda reportedly told police that they would find more than one pound of marijuana under the front passenger seat. The search revealed two individually packaged bundles of marijuana, along with one burnt marijuana cigarette, for a total weight of 1.58 pounds, according to the report.
When police asked why Seda had so much marijuana on him, he allegedly stated something to the effect of “I’m not going to play games with you. You know what it is. I have to feed my family somehow,” according to the report.
As a result of the incident, Seda has been charged with one felony count manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver, as well as misdemeanor charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance. He was arraigned later that morning by Magisterial District judge Andrea Duffy, who set bail at $25,000 cash.
Seda was then remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail. His next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on Feb. 25 at 9 a.m. in front of Judge Duffy.
(Editor's note: All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. Should the defendant choose to issue a public statement, or is later found not guilty or has the charges dropped, we will update this article accordingly.)
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