The car that Forty Fort police allege was driven recklessly by Adam Cottle, while impersonating a police officer.
Courtest of Forty Fort police
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FORTY FORT — A man with a history of marijuana-based offenses was arrested again on Saturday after fleeing from police in a black vehicle resembling an police car, according to police.
Adam Cottle, 34, of Spring Brook in Lackawanna County was arrested by Forty Fort police after officers observed his vehicle, outfitted with lights and sirens resembling those used by police but with the name of his marijuana business, “Best Damn Buds,” written on the side of the car.
According to a post from the Forty Fort Police Department’s Facebook page:
Officers observed the vehicle driving in the area of Butler and Welles Streets just before 5 p.m. on Saturday evening.
The vehicle, a black Ford Explorer, was equipped with a push bar, spot light, a police-style light bar on the top of the vehicle and lights mounted on the grill. “PATROL” was also spelled out in decals on both sides of the car.
When police noticed the vehicle, they saw that it was driving down the street with a loud police-style siren and multiple lights flashing; other drivers were observed pulling to the side of the road and yielding to the vehicle, believing that it was an actual police car.
Police attempted to stop the vehicle, but it fled. When the vehicle was stopped, the driver was identified as Cottle.
Cottle was arraigned on Sunday morning in front of Magisterial District Judge Joseph Zola, where he was charged with a felony count of fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, a misdemeanor count of impersonating a public servant, one count of DUI: controlled substance (first offense) and multiple summary offenses relating to the improper display of lights and careless driving.
He was also found to be in violation of his probation as a result of the incident.
Bail was set at $35,000; Cottle’s docket sheet doesn’t make clear whether or not he was able to post bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 15.
This isn’t the first time Cottle’s been in hot water relating to marijuana. A longtime advocate for marijuana reform and a critic of the justice system, Cottle has been arrested multiple times on possession charges, most notably in June of 2017 at a cemetery on State Route 115.
According to a Times Leader story from May 24, 2019, Cottle had been arrested after officers found marijuana and related paraphernalia in his vehicle at the cemetery. Charges were later filed and a summons was mailed to Cottle’s address, but the summons came back as “undeliverable,” which led to his arrest.