A Michigan man charged with possessing crack cocaine during a traffic stop last month was stopped and arrested again for the same thing this month, police say.
Robert Preston, 50, was in Hazel Park 43rd District Court again this week and the two cases were combined into one.
Preston was released on personal bond after his first arrest, and is free after posting 10 percent of a $5,000 bond following his second arrest, according to court records.
Each of the two charges against him – possession of less than 25 grams of a controlled substance – is a four-year felony.
A Hazel Park officer first stopped the suspect Nov. 14 for obstructed vision and having no insurance on his 2003 Pontiac Vibe.
Hazel Park Police Chief Brian Buchholz said the officer first tried to stop Preston at Eight Mile Road and North Chrysler Drive.
“He did not pull over until he got about a mile away,” Buchholz said. “The officer noticed the suspect was making furtive movements while driving, reaching down toward the passenger side of the vehicle. They thought he might have something in the vehicle.”
Police said they asked Preston for consent to do a search and he agreed.
“They found some crack cocaine in the breast pocket of the suspect’s jacket,” Buchholz said.
Preston declined to be interviewed by police and was arraigned and released.
About 12:30 a.m. Dec. 9, the same officer stopped Preston at John R and Nine Mile roads because a rear light was out and his license plate could not be seen, police said.
“The officer asked the suspect where he was coming from,” Buchholz said, “and the officer could tell from his answer he was not being truthful.”
Once again, the officer asked Preston for consent to search his vehicle and police said the motorist consented to a search for the second time in less than a month.
“Inside the car the officer found a red inhaler inside the driver side door,” Buchholz said. “Inside the inhaler he found some crack cocaine.”
Police said Preston told them he had trouble breathing and got the inhaler from a friend.
Preston was arrested and agreed to a police interview, according to officers.
“He admitted the crack cocaine was his and he hid it in the inhaler,” Buchholz said.
Preston has several prior convictions for drug-related crimes on his record, police said, over a 20-year period starting in 1999. He is scheduled for a probable cause conference at 1 p.m. Jan. 3 in Hazel Park District Court.
Hits: 0
