A strong smell of pot coming from his car didn’t help a 19-year-old Hamilton man going through a RIDE lane at the top of the Jolley Cut early this morning. Or that he didn’t have a driver’s licence and didn’t actually own the car.

Const. Debbie McGreal-Dinning said police were conducting the RIDE stops at about 3 a.m. when the odorous car in question entered the lane. After speaking with the driver, officers determined the car had just been stolen, although not yet reported as such.

The driver was arrested without incident and held for a bail hearing on charges of theft and possession of a motor vehicle over $5,000, driving without a licence and breach of probation.