Published Thursday, April 10, 2008 2:00 PM
Updated Thursday, April 10, 2008 2:01 PM
Crime 04/11/08
Police arrest drug dealer deemed ‘mid-level’
North Charleston police racked up charges Monday against a Dorchester County man they say was a “mid-level drug dealer.”
William Cooper, 28, was arrested at a North Charleston hotel off Ashley Phosphate Road after he allegedly agreed to sell drugs to buyers who turned out to be undercover narcotics officers, said Spencer Pryor, police public information officer.
Cooper was charged with trafficking cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack), and two counts of possession with intent to distribute within ½ mile proximity of a school, Pryor said.
Cooper was reportedly in possession of 129.5 grams of cocaine and 8.4 grams of crack cocaine with a combined street value of nearly $14,000, according to Pryor.
Traffic stop déjà vu for motorist
An 18-year-old Ladson man, pulled over Sunday by Summerville police, apparently confused the officer who stopped him with the last policeman to cite him for driving under suspension, a report shows.
“You know me from the other night,” the man said when the officer approached the driver’s side door.
It wasn’t the same officer but the man ended up being charged with the same offense — driving under suspension, according to the report. He was also charged with speeding for reportedly traveling 46 mph in a 30 mph zone, the report states.
The vehicle was registered to his mother, who was cited for allowing unauthorized operation of a motor vehicle because she allegedly let him drive the car even though she knew he didn’t have a valid driver’s license, the report shows.
Call to ditch puts deputy in one
A Dorchester County sheriff’s deputy was responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle in a ditch when his patrol car slid on a wet road and he ended up in a ditch himself, a report shows.
According to a March 20 report filed by the deputy, he was traveling the speed limit — 45 mph — along Orangeburg Road toward U.S. Hwy. 78. The roads were wet and it was raining. As he approached a stop sign where the two roadways intersect, he started to slide and when he was unable to redirect his patrol car, he slid across Hwy. 78 and into the ditch, the report states.
The deputy sustained a sore neck and back, he noted. As for the patrol car, it sustained damage to the front end and underneath.
Spare some change?
A 49-year-old Summerville man was arrested March 31 at Alston Middle School following what was reportedly his second alleged panhandling offense at the school in as many years, a report shows.
Last year, the man was charged with trespass after notice for panhandling in the school’s “car rider” lane, according to a Summerville police report. Last week, he was accused of panhandling again and was taken into custody in the school’s front office after he tried to ask the principal for money, the report states.
Alston’s school resource officer took the man into custody before transporting him to the police department for booking and processing and then to jail to await a bond hearing.
Freshly-painted bar gets another (unwanted) coat
A Miles Road bar became the target of graffiti March 28, less than 24 hours after the entire building received a fresh coat of paint, a report shows.
The shift manager/bartender at Loco Joe’s told a Dorchester County sheriff’s deputy she received a call from someone across the street who reported that the bar was being spray-painted. She and another bar employee went outside and saw two young males spray-painting the building, the report states.
One of the employees yelled “Hey!” and the suspects ran away, according to the report.
The reporting deputy noted black and red spray painted symbols and letters on one of the building’s walls.
The only description of the two suspects was that they are 15 to 25 years of age, the report shows. Police searched a nearby neighborhood but were unable to locate the suspects.
Contact David Berman at 873-9424 ext. 214 or dberman@journalscene.com