NEW YORK — The pot pipe in Robert Iler's pants was still warm when police arrested the "Sopranos" star in connection with a street robbery, a New York City police officer testified Monday.

"It was hot and it seemed to have marijuana in it," Patrolman Brian O'Donnell said at a pretrial hearing for the 17-year-old actor who plays A.J. Soprano on the hit HBO series.

When he dug into Iler's pants pocket a second time, the officer told Judge Daniel FitzGerald, he found a bag of marijuana.

Iler and two friends are accused of robbing $40 from a pair of teenage tourists as they strolled on Manhattan's tony Upper East Side July 4, 2001. According to police, Iler, Michael Cournede, 19, and Alban Selimaj, 16, demanded the cash while asking if the victims "wanted to die." A fourth boy, 15, was charged in juvenile court.

Iler faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted of robbery and drug possession charges.

The actor, who appeared in court Monday wearing a long black coat adorned with an American flag lapel pin, has admitted to police that he and his friends passed the alleged victims while on their way to watch fireworks that night. But the actor claims he was chatting with a female friend up the block while Cournede spoke to the two victims.

O'Donnell and another officer, patrolman Brendan Johnson, described Monday racing to the park after receiving a report of a robbery in progress nearby. Both said the teens fit the general description of the assailants, and O'Donnell said he frisked the suspects for weapons.

In addition to the pipe and pot on Iler, O'Donnell said he found a 5-inch boxcutter on Cournede.

The hearing, which will resume Tuesday, will determine which statements made to police and what evidence from the suspects can be admitted at the trial, scheduled to begin May 6.