On April 16 at approximately 3:16 a.m., Saugerties police officers discovered a vehicle parked in the middle of the road on Dawes Street in the Village of Saugerties. The vehicle, a 2019 Nissan, was running and the driver, 29-year-old David R. Mencke, was passed out on the front seat. Mencke regained consciousness as officers were checking on his condition. Officers observed a bundle of packets that were stamped with the name Anthrax and several baggies, which contained a substance that Mencke told officers was heroin. Incidental to a search, Mencke was found in possession of 50 decks of heroin, marihuana and over $1,500.
Mencke was taken into custody and processed at the Saugerties Police Department on the felony charge of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree with intent to sell and the violation of unlawful possession of marihuana in the second degree. Mencke was arraigned utilizing virtual arraignment procedures with Ulster County Court. He was released and is scheduled to appear in the Village of Saugerties Justice Court on May 18.