A tow truck driver was arrested after cocaine was discovered inside his truck, according to Kim Myers, spokeswoman for the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office.
On September 22 at 4:30 a.m., the Combined Anti-Drug Task Force (C.A.T. Team) Cpl. Chad Booth conducted a stop on a tow truck near mile marker 23 in Sulphur traveling eastbound on I-10 for a traffic violation.
Elton J. Richard, 42, of Church Point, began to act suspiciously when Booth started asking questions. Cpl. Booth asked for permission to search the truck but Richard refused, according to Myers. The officer then deployed his trained and certified drug detection K-9 Sam to conduct a free air sniff around the truck and Sam provided a positive response to the odor of a controlled substance coming from the vehicle. A search was conducted and 27 bundles, totaling 63 pounds, of powder cocaine, with an estimated street value of $870,000, was recovered from inside the truck.
Richard was arrested and booked into the Calcasieu Correctional Jail and on a charge of possession of CDS II (cocaine) over 28 grams.
Judge Clayton Davis set his bond at $250,000.
