Published: October 17, 2007 08:48 am            

Fugitive arrested with crack cocaine

BEREA — A Michigan fugitive caught with more than eight grams of crack cocaine and nearly a gram of marijuana was arrested Friday in Berea.

Ken Kotewa, 36, of Bay City, Mich., was stopped about 7:30 p.m. driving his Dodge Intrepid near the intersection of Jefferson and Elipse streets. Madison County Sheriff’s Deputy Tim Humble observed Kotewa, who became “very nervous” upon seeing him and possibly became involved in a verbal argument with his passenger, Amy Greenwood, the arrest citation states.

Kotewa turned into Berea Community School without signaling, the citation states, and then came back around onto Elipse Street, where Humble stopped him.

“The driver was very nervous and sweating profusely,” said Madison County Sheriff Nelson O’Donnell.

Kotewa was placed under arrest for failure to signal as well as failure to produce an insurance card and operating on a suspended driver’s license. While checking Kotewa’s information, dispatch alerted Humble that Kotewa was a fugitive on charges that he failed to report to his parole officer.

“The warrant came in that he failed to report, but his criminal history included arson, escape and assault on law enforcement,” Humble said. “That’s just some of them. The majority were larceny charges. He had 18 pages of criminal history.”

MCSO K-9, Klisar, was called to the scene, where O’Donnell said he alerted to the scent of drugs by the passenger and driver’s side doors.

“There was a large white in color rock under the passenger seat which field tested positive for cocaine,” O’Donnell said. “There was a crack pipe under the driver’s seat.”

In the trunk, a leather case was found with 10 bands of cash marked $1,000 each. The actual total cash seized was $10,467, O’Donnell said.

The Central Kentucky Area Drug Task Force was activated to continue investigating the case, and were led to the couple’s hotel room, where an additional seven grams of crack cocaine was located and .8 grams of marijuana, said CKADTF Director Rick Johnson.

Kotewa additionally was charged with first-degree trafficking cocaine, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Greenwood was charged with possession of marijuana and possession of cocaine.

Kotewa told police he was driving through Berea on his way to South Carolina to see his mother, Johnson said. Both were lodged in the Madison County Detention Center, each on a $10,000 cash bond.

To make anonymous drug tips, visit www.ckadtf.com or call the drug tip-line at 623-7867.

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

        

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