More than 250 grams of coke and 1,500 bags of heroin were found in search of defendant’s vehicle
By BOB MARTIN
Eagle Times
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — A Claremont man is being charged with trafficking heroin and cocaine after a search warrant of his vehicle led to the Springfield Police Department seizing more than 250 grams of cocaine and 1,500 bags of suspected heroin, along with various paraphernalia.
Pedro Rodriguez, 43, of Claremont was arrested on Dec. 13 and charged with Domestic Assault, Interference with Emergency Services, Possession of Cocaine, Heroin Trafficking and Cocaine Trafficking.
According to information provided by the Springfield Police Department, at 7:13 a.m. on Dec. 13, officers responded to a domestic assault call. While on the way to the call, officers were updated that the alleged suspect was Rodriguez and had fled.
Officers spoke with the alleged victim, who said she was assaulted because she owes him money. The victim said that he tried to take her cell phone to stop her from calling 911.
The vehicle, a Ford Expedition, was observed entering the driveway of 78 Valley Street, and Rodriguez was seen exiting the vehicle and detained by officers. Additional officers arrived at the scene to help with the detention, and it was discovered that he was allegedly in possession of suspected cocaine.
“They found it in his vicinity and looked at cameras to see if it was there before him or not,” said Springfield Police Chief Jeff Burnham. “It was near him and the car, so that is why they had to go through hoops to put the probable cause onto the car and not just the property near the car.
Rodriguez was taken into custody and police found a large amount of money on him, which they seized. A consent to search the vehicle was denied, and officers seized it while they applied for a search warrant.
Rodriguez was taken to the Springfield Police Department for processing and issued a flash citation to appear in the Vermont Superior Court, Criminal Division, Windsor Unit on Dec. 16 to answer for the crimes of Domestic Assault, Interference with Emergency Services, and Possession of Cocaine. He was lodged at Southern State Correctional Facility in lieu of $10,000 bail.
Officer Ben Doucette and K-9 Moose of the Manchester Vermont Police Department later responded and performed a “drug sniff” around the vehicle. K-9 Moose flagged the vehicle, indicating that the odor of narcotics were present, the report stated.
Police were granted a search warrant, which yielded an excess of 250 grams of cocaine, more than 1,500 bags of suspected heroin, and various paraphernalia. Rodriguez was later charged with Heroin Trafficking and Cocaine Trafficking.
The K-9 unit was brought in to help with applying for the search warrant, but Chief Burnham admitted that what they found was a shock.
“It is a big deal and was a surprise,” he said. “We were not expecting that. We only had the K-9 as a point of procedure because if the dog hits, it enforces our probable cause for a search.”
Burnham said drugs was not the first thought because officers were responding to the domestic assault call.
“The assisting officer saw some sort of drug activity and that was the nexus for us to find out more,” he said. “It is my understanding that the individual didn’t make any comment about it initially, and it was decided that the car was going to be seized, and this was the result of the search warrant.”
He added, “It is our opinion that this person was probably recently supplied and bringing it into the neighborhood. We were fortunate to find it at the right time. It is unfortunately still in demand in the Springfield area, but we are hoping to address the demand for the drugs.”
All it takes is a quick glance at any daily edition of the newspaper to see that drug arrests occur on a daily basis in Springfield and surrounding communities.
Burnham said this is where Project ACTION comes in, as it is clear that many of the same people are getting arrested in town for the same charges over and over. He said they need to find the reasons people use, and continue to use, and see if there is any way they can be helped.
“It is still happening, and we have to get at the demand, and it is a very difficult thing,” Burnham said. “Every person has a reason to get involved and remain involved. We have to figure out what all those are and see if we can help them out.”
The Weathersfield Police Department and Manchester Vermont Police Department assisted in the investigation.