Orange Patrol Officer N.R. Medina made arrests in three drug cases during the weekend. One of the men arrested was stopped near where business burglaries have been reported and he had guns and a bolt cutter in the pickup.
In that case, Medina reported he was making extra patrols looking for possible break-ins. At 11:47 p.m. Saturday, he reported seeing a tan 2000 Ford pickup truck traveling slowly on 14th Street and making stops. He said a surveillance of a burglary at a 16th Street business showed a tan 1999-2003 Ford pickup truck with a custom grill leaving the scene.
Medina said he followed the truck down 14th Street. The truck stopped at the Park Avenue intersection but did not use a turn signal, so the officer stopped the truck for the traffic violation.
After stopping the truck, the officer said he saw two large bottles of Crown Royal within reach of the driver and a set of bolt cutters with a jacket over them. When the officer walked up to the windshield to check the registration, he saw the back strap of a pistol sticking out of the center of the truck.
The driver admitted to having a few guns in the truck and the officer found a black bag with two unloaded handguns plus magazines of ammunition. The driver had no felony convictions, though, so carrying the guns was not illegal.
At least until the officer heard pills rattling in a bottle in a jacket. Medina reported he found 61 prescription pills of Dextroamphetamine, a controlled substance.
40-year-old Ricky Charles Odom of Orange was arrested for possession of a controlled substance. Because he had the guns while accused of committing a crime, he also faces a charge of unlawful possession of a handgun. Odom was arrested and taken to the Orange County Jail.
At 12:49 a.m. Saturday, Medina topped a four-door Toyota pickup truck in the 1700 block of MacArthur Drive after noticing the truck did not have a light on the back license. He reported six people were in the truck and he saw furtive movements.
The driver gave permission to search the car. Medina said he saw two glass pipes with marijuana residue on the floor. Then he saw an uncapped syringe and the driver told him he was withdrawing consent. However, the syringe gave the officer probable cause to continue the search.
Medina found a brown satchel that held used and unused syringes along with methamphetamine. He arrested 26-year-old Zachary Lane Taylor of Groves for possession of a controlled substance.
About 8 Saturday night, Medina was on patrol in the Sabine River Park Apartments, 111 Pine Avenue, when he noticed two people sitting in a dark Ford pickup truck in the parking lot. He wnet to check on the people and saw that the driver had a large knife attached to his waistband.
Medina reported the man admitted to having “a little weed” in his pocket. The officer found a baggie with some loose leaves of marijuana and then another baggie with compressed marijuana. The weight of the two baggies was 18 ounces, or 0.63 ounces. 19-year-old Cameron Taylor Chapman of Bridge City was arrested for misdemeanor possession of marijuana. The other man, a 20-year-old, was not arrested.
Also during the weekend, Orange police were called to the 3700 block of Edgemont about 8 Saturday morning because the owner of a parked Chevrolet Silverado noticed the driver’s side window was partially down and someone had tampered with the ignition.
Two men were arrested Saturday night for public intoxication on what is believed to be PCP. Officer M.C. Bernard reported he went to the Texas Food Store, 305 Burton Avenue at 10:20 p.m. after a complaint about the men, who were in the parking lot. After the two were taken to the Orange County Jail, a corrections officer patting down the men found a “wet” cigarette in the pocket of one and the other admitted he also had a “wet” cigarette. “Wet” is a street name for PCP.
Bernard said the two were taken to the Medical Center of Southeast Texas to be cleared medically before being taken back to the jail. 45-year-old Elroy Chavis of Orange and 33-year-old Elmus Jamal Andrews of Orange face felony charges of possession of a controlled substance in addition to misdemeanor public intoxication charges.
Social Media