Police: Two Men Caught with 11 Pieces of Crack

Police found 11 pieces of crack cocaine Tuesday after stopping a car with two men in it, including a Norwalk man arrested here and in Willimantic on narcotics charges.

Norwalk police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the matter:

A police officer on patrol saw a green Pontiac stop near the intersection of South Main and Grove as the drover spoke with a man standing on the street in an area known for being an open-air illegal drug market. The driver spoke with the man, who then got in the car.

The officer stopped the Pontiac and noticed that the passenger, Caleb Banks, 22, of Norwalk, fidgeting around in the seat. The officer recognized him as someone who had been arrested previously in Norwalk.

The driver, Larry Hughes, 62, of Bridgeport, told the officer that he didn't know his passenger and had just stopped to give him a ride. Police searched the car.

In the console of the car, police found a bunch of knitted pieces of plastic wrapping, each containing a white, rocklike substance that later tested positive for crack cocaine. Three more pieces were found on the floor of the car.

Each man denied the drugs were his. Each denied smoking crack.

A check found that Banks had been arrested both in Norwalk and Willimantic on drug-related charges, and that he was wanted for failing to appear in court on a Willimantic drug-selling charge.

Norwalk police charged Banks, of Main Street, with conspiracy to sell narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school, selling narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school, selling narcotics, illegal possession of narcotics, illegal possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school and failure to wear a seat belt. He was held on $10,000 bond pending an appearance in state Superior Court in Norwalk. If he made bail, he was to appear on Dec. 19.

Hughs, of Robin Street in Bridgeport, was charged with illegal possession of narcotics, illegal possession of narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school, selling narcotics and selling narcotics within 1,500 feet of a school. He was held on $10,000 bond pending an appearance in state Superior Court in Norwalk. If he made bail, he was to appear on Dec. 11.