Published: March 17, 2008 08:37 am      

Cocaine charges

RPD arrests three

In less than an hour Friday, Richmond Police rounded up three Richmond residents on varying cocaine charges resulting from traffic stops.

RPD Sgt. J.J. Rogers and Detective Matt Morris stopped a black Pontiac just before 9 p.m. in the parking lot of Central Liquor at the intersection of Collins and Main streets. The car’s driver, Kendall Joseph Anderson, 20, of Jason Drive, failed to signal a turn from Madison Avenue and his license plate was not illuminated, the arrest citation states.

“Upon stop, subject was found to have a suspended instruction permit,” Rogers said in the citation’s post-arrest complaint. “Upon search at incident to arrest, I located a small plastic bag in a child seat in rear of the vehicle. The bag had approximately one gram of suspected cocaine in it.”

Anderson’s brother, DeQuentin LaCharles Anderson, 22, of Wayne Drive, was a passenger in the car.

“Upon contact (DeQuentin Anderson) gave consent to search his person,” Morris wrote in the post-arrest complaint. “Located in his above left shoe was a baggie with approximately five grams of cocaine inside.”

A Xanax pill also was found in the pocket DeQuentin Anderson’s jacket and $1,395 in cash was seized. Later, during an interview at the police department, he told Morris that he trafficked cocaine to support his own drug habit.

Kendall Anderson was charged with failure to signal a turn, having a license plate that was not illuminated, operating a vehicle on a DUI suspended license and being in possession of a first-degree controlled substance, cocaine. His older brother was charged with first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance.

About 45 minutes after the Andersons were arrested, RPD K-9 Officer Kurt Heatherton stopped a second vehicle downtown on Moberly Avenue. It’s driver, Sotoy A. Minter, 28, of Hager Drive, also failed to signal his turn onto Madison Avenue. Upon stopping Minter, dispatch reported that his driver’s license was suspended, Heatherton’s post-arrest complaint states.

Minter gave Heatherton permission to search him and no drugs were located. However, after another officer transported Minter to the Madison County Detention Center, he found a small bag with about .11 grams of cocaine in an envelope in his back seat where Minter had been sitting.

“There was approximately four to five cocaine rocks,” the citation states. “The suspected cocaine was field tested and tested positive for cocaine.”

Minter denied possession of the cocaine, but admitted he had used the drug recreationally that morning. He was charged with failure to signal, operating on a suspended operator’s license, tampering with physical evidence and first-degree possession of a controlled substance (first offense).

Anyone with information about drug activity should call the Richmond Police Narcotics tip-line at 623-1714 or e-mail tips to tipline@richmond.ky.us. The information can be given anonymously.

Kelly Foreman can be reached at kforeman@richmondregister.com or 624-6694